MDGx
Windows 98/98 SE
Tricks + Secrets - Part 1

Go to Windows 98 ©Tricks + Secrets Contents
• 10-6-98 Win98 Original Registry ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


STRETCH WALLPAPER


Windows 98 is meant to improve our computing capabilities, at least that's how it is advertised. Unfortunately this is not entirely true. :-(
Sadly, Win98 (ALL final retail/OEM releases) lost some of the features built into Windows 95/OSR2 systems. Here are just a few examples:
  1. No more centered dialog boxes/windows, enabled in Win95/OSR2 ONLY by using 3rd party video/desktop drivers/programs, like ATI Technologies Mach/Rage Win95/OSR2 video drivers/tools, available for free at the ATI tech support web site, for all ATI PCI/AGP video controllers owners.

  2. No more virtual desktops, larger than the selected Desktop size, built-in the Display Properties applet, also available to Win95/OSR2 users by using 3rd party video drivers/tools.

    And a BUG I have found:

  3. The "Stretch wallpaper to fit desktop" feature introduced by MS Plus! Pack for Win95, and built into OSR2's Display Properties applet, is NOT available if you uncheck the "IE4 enabled" and/or "Active Desktop enabled" boxes in TweakUI's IE4 tab [110 KB, free, unsupported].
    To install TweakUI, right-click on Tweakui.inf and select Install. When done, open Control Panel and (double-)click on TweakUI.

But you CAN have your wallpaper stretched to fit your Desktop size, even if you're not using TweakUI's "IE4 enabled" feature, by applying the Registry workaround described below.
The Desktop wallpaper, also called background picture, uses a Windows RGB (Red-Green-Blue) encoded bitmap (.BMP file), or a jpeg (.JPG file).
Newer 32-bit web browsers, like MS IE 4/5/6 and Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3/4/6 can also "Set [image] as wallpaper", usually if you right-click on an picture/image found on a web page, in any of these formats: GIF (animated GIFs will appear as static if you're not using the Win98/IE's "Display desktop as a web page" feature), BMP, JPG, PNG etc.
The only way to have your wallpaper/bitmap stretched to the Desktop size in Win98 (without using TweakUI "IE4 enabled" check box), is to run Regedit, and then go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop

Right-click in the right hand pane, and look for the "WallpaperStyle" string. If it is not present, select New, String, and type in "WallpaperStyle" (no quotes). Then (double-)click on this new String and give it a value of 2. Close the Registry Editor.
The next time you will restart Win98, your Desktop wallpaper will be displayed full screen (at any resolution).
If you want to have your Desktop bitmap back to its original size, just modify the "WallpaperStyle" String again to read 0 (default value).
On Win98 systems [ONLY IF using TweakUI's "IE4 enabled" feature :(] the wallpaper can be stretched by running: Control Panel → Display → Background tab → Wallpaper box → Display → Stretch check box.

NOTE: You might also need to CENTER your wallpaper, if your bitmap is meant to be displayed full screen (large size), by modifying the "TileWallpaper" string to read 0, under the same Registry key above, or start Control Panel → Display → Background tab → Wallpaper box → Display → Center check box.

To learn how to move your Desktop wallpaper off the center, see "WALLPAPER POSITION", also in REGISTRY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
Have fun!

FYI: Use one of these 32-bit freeware tools to center and "remember" any window/dialog box size and position:

Back 2 Contents
• 9-8-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


FREE SPACE BUG!


To learn about the new File Allocation Table 32bit (FAT32) standard used in Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.x and Windows 98, read "FAT16 → FAT32 → exFAT", also in SECRETS.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
Though Microsoft modified the disk utilities bundled with Windows 98 and OSR2 to comply with this new FAT32 standard (Scandisk, Defrag, FDISK, FORMAT etc), there is still a small "glitch" exhibited by these Operating Systems, known as the "free space BUG".
Every once in a while, after your Win98/OSR2 machine has crashed or locked up, Windows may not calculate the amount of free space on a FAT32 drive/logical partition accurately. Example: if your disk/partition capacity is 1 GB, and the free disk space amounts between 100 - 200 MB, Windows might actually report that your drive is full.
To get rid of this BUG, you need to repair/recover the eventual lost disk clusters, by running ScanDisk (Scandskw.exe in Windows or SCANDISK.EXE in MS-DOS). This will fix the discrepancy, but only temporarily (at least until your hard disk crashes again), it won't "squash" the "free space BUG"! :(

Back 2 Contents
• 9-1-98 Updated Win9x Original MTU Registry ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


FASTEST INTERNET 98 - PART 1
[UPDATED 9-1-98]


This topic applies to ALL 28.8 - 56 kbps analog modem owners, using any 56K protocol for 56K modems (3COM/US Robotics x2, Rockwell/Lucent 56KFlex, or the newer ITU V.90 PCM standard) to connect to the Internet through the TCP/IP protocol, and using Dial-Up Networking (DUN) in Windows 98/98 SE, to enable the fastest Internet transfers supported by these modems.

UPDATE: These tweaks apply also to Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 systems ONLY IF upgraded with DUN Upgrade 1.4 [1.8 MB, free], because this DUN Update implements the "IPMTU" Registry value for Internet Packet size (MTU), besides the well known "MaxMTU" setting.

DEFINITION: Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) or packet size of a Network/ISP is the largest amount of data that can be transferred in one physical frame on that Network. Fragmentation will occur if a packet is sent across a Network that has a MTU smaller than the packet's frame length. This leads to lower performance as fragments need to be reassembled. The workaround in this case is to decrease the Winsock's MTU value to match the minimum MTU of ALL intervening Networks. Since it is virtually impossible to determine the minimum MTU of so many Networks, trial and error is almost always the best choice. Start by trying to match your MTU value with your Network/ISP's MTU. Typical cases:See also Microsoft's explanation of (Max)MTU.

There are a few settings you can change to get the fastest possible Internet connection under Windows 98, using the TCP/IP protocol (Dial-Up Networking) and your ISP (Internet Service Provider):

  1. Run Control Panel → Network → Dial-Up Adapter → Advanced → IP Packet Size. Change the IP Packet Size from "Automatic" (Win98 default: dynamically adjusts the MTU setting depending on connection type) to "Small" (MTU fixed at 576, ideal for TCP/IP Internet connections).
    MTU = Maximum Transmission Unit (IP packet size in bytes).
    Make sure the "Client for Microsoft Networks" item is present on your Network applet list (install it if necessary), to enable the saving of your ISP logon password!

  2. Uncheck the "Log on to Network" box in Dial-Up Networking → Server Types.
    This will affect only your login time. Beware that in certain cases it is necessary to leave this box checked!

  3. Start Regedit, and go to (default Win98 Registry key):

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000

    Make sure you modify these values ONLY under the Net keys that display:

    "DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter"

    or (AOL users ONLY):

    "DriverDesc"="AOL Adapter"

    in the right hand pane!

    1. In the right hand pane, (double-)click the "SLOWNET" hex value, and change its number from 01 to 00.
      This won't dramatically increase your transfers but will reduce timeouts.

    2. Change the "IPMTU" string to read 576.
      Win98's default is 0, corresponding to the "Automatic" IP Packet Size setting: Control Panel → Network applet → Dial-Up Adapter → Advanced → IP Packet Size (see above).

    Various Win98 TCP/IP configurations may contain the "SLOWNET" and "IPMTU" values under different Registry subkeys. (Double-)click on the "Net" key (see above) to view all its subkeys. Substitute the "00nn" key below with the appropriate integer number(s) present on your machine (valid values for nn: from 00 up to 50):

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\00nn

    Then track down all "SLOWNET" and "IPMTU" instances and modify them as described above.

  4. Run Regedit and go to:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000\Ndi\params\IPMTU   

    The same "00nn" → "0000", "0001"... etc substitution principle (see above) applies here.
    Change the "default" string found in the right hand pane from 0 (Win98 default "Automatic" setting) to 576, Win98's "Small" setting: Control Panel → Network applet → Dial-Up Adapter → Advanced → IP Packet Size (see above).

Restart Windows 98 when done so all changes can take effect.

All settings detailed above can be also implemented by using the included file: IPMTU98.REG (or restored by using IPMTUDEF.REG, also included). But FIRST open these .REG files in Notepad and compare the Registry keys listed there with yours. To view/edit your Win98 Registry, run the Registry editor (REGEDIT.EXE, located in your Win98 folder), and scroll to the keys listed in IPMTU98.REG + IPMTUDEF.REG. The "DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter" and "DriverDesc"="AOL Adapter" Net keys: 0000, 0001 etc might have different values on your system. You may have more than one "00nn" Net keys ("nn" is an actual number, ranging anywhere from 00 up to 50, depending on your system's Network/Dial-Up settings). If that is true, you HAVE TO REPLACE THEM with the ones found in YOUR Registry!
After modifying the IPMTU98.REG + IPMTUDEF.REG keys to match YOURS, (double-)click on IPMTU98.REG in Explorer or File Manager to merge (register) the new settings.
Then restart Win98, log on to your ISP as usual, and notice any differences in access speed.

NOTE: IPMTU is NOT present in your Registry if you have never used a "MTU tweaker" like EasyMTU, or added it yourself using a Registry editor like Regedit.

If you are experiencing slower connections or/and longer wait times after using these new settings, (double-)click on IPMTUDEF.REG (also included) to RESTORE them to their default values.

WARNING: BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM FILES FIRST!

IMPORTANT: To learn how to modify your MaxMTU (Win95 users), and many other important Win95/98 Registry settings (DefaultRcvWindow, DefaultTTL, cachesize, COMBoostTime etc) to optimize your Internet/AOL connection, please read these related topics, also part of my Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003 + DOS 7/8 ©Tricks + Secrets files [W95-11D.EXE]:

Also check out these 56K + MTU reference links for more info.

Max surf speed ahead!

Back 2 Contents
• 7-30-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


NEW SCANDISK OPTION


If you run ScanDisk (Windows 98's disk error detection/repair tool), you'll find that a new parameter was added to the "ScanDisk Advanced Options" dialog box.
ScanDisk's default shortcut is found under Start → Programs → Accessories → System Tools → ScanDisk. Run ScanDisk and click the "Advanced..." button.
This new option can be activated by checking the "Report MS-DOS mode name length errors" box. This refers to the 8.3 DOS filename format, displayed in MS-DOS true mode outside Windows and in a DOS box/session/window started from within Windows.
Windows 95/98 have the capability to save/modify/display each file/folder using both the 256.8 Long File Name (LFN) and the 8.3 short file name format.
ScanDisk's new option above enables the 8.3 format checking for all files.

Back 2 Contents
• 7-27-98 Win98/ME Original ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


SCANREGW, SCANREG + SCANREG.INI


Both Windows 98 and ME come with a long awaited tool (%windir%\SCANREGW.EXE, located in your Windows folder) that performs daily automatic vital backups of the Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT + USER.DAT (and CLASSES.DAT if using WinME), and System files: SYSTEM.INI + WIN.INI.
More info @ MSKB.
This is the default mode, enabled by a command line found under the Registry key below. Run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Make sure the "ScanRegistry" String Value is present in the right hand pane:

"ScanRegistry"="C:\Windows\Scanregw.exe /autorun"

This means Scanregw makes a new backup set upon the first Windows startup of each new day. These backups are compressed into .CAB files (Microsoft proprietary compression technology) located by default in the C:\Windows\Sysbckup folder.
These .CAB files are named RB00n.CAB, where n = 0 - 4, respectively = RB000.CAB - RB004.CAB, because the default Scanregw setting allows for a maximum of 5 backups. The newest backup .CAB file overwrites the oldest.
You can customize the way Scanregw manages these daily backups by making changes to SCANREG.INI, a plain text file located in your Windows folder.
Open Scanreg.ini with Notepad, and scroll down to view all its parameters, they are all well documented with remarked (;) lines of text.
Changes you can make to Scanreg.ini:

Restart Windows when you're done so the new settings can take effect.
If you also use the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode (like I do), you can access most of these Windows backup features by running the Scanregw DOS counterpart, filename SCANREG.EXE (located in C:\Windows\Command).

NOTE: To make this work with Windows ME you MUST install one of these DOS Patches FIRST!

Run:

SCANREG /?

to display its available command line parameters:

"Windows Registry Checker Usage: SCANREG [/<option>]
<option>
?          : Displays usage.
BACKUP     : Backup the registry and related system configuration files.
RESTORE    : Choose a backup to restore.
FIX        : Repair the registry.
COMMENT="<comment>"
           : Adds the specified comment to the CAB file while backing up."

SCANREG command line parameters explained:

FYI:

Back 2 Contents
• 7-21-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


98 CD-ROM DRIVER BUG + FIX


I have faced yet another "98 BUG": I took two (2) weeks (from the time I have first installed Win98 on my machine) to figure out how to properly configure the "Secondary IDE Controller (dual fifo)" on my machine. As a consequence (before applying this fix), my IDE/ATAPI internal CD-ROM drive was still running in "MS-DOS compatibility mode", with the 32-bit File System disabled, because of a FALSE hardware IRQ (Interrupt Request Line) conflict, that was showing IRQ 15 used by both the "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller" and the "Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)" items in the System Properties Device Manager tab. The default (Pentium and above) motherboard EIDE hard drive controller DOES use IRQ 15 for normal operation, as DOES the secondary IDE interface, which is part of the same EIDE drive controller!
My IDE/ATAPI internal CD-ROM drive is connected to my motherboard's secondary IDE controller interface, and properly configured as master drive (both my hard drives are connected to the primary IDE interface).

FYI: See the MSKB fix!

The workaround step-by-step:
  1. I have installed Windows 98 over Windows 95B OSR 2.1.

  2. I have copied the OSR2 version of the MSHDC.INF file [date-time stamp 8-24-96 11:11:11] to the Windows \Inf hidden subfolder, overwriting Win98's MSHDC.INF (you can rename it to something like MSHDC98.INF).

  3. I have removed the "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller" item from the "Hard disk controllers" menu, you can see when you open Control Panel → System → Device Manager tab.

  4. When the computer rebooted into Win98, the Hardware Wizard automatically redetected the new hardware (PCI IDE Controller), prompted me to install the default Win98 driver (Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller) and gave me the choice of selecting several drivers from a list (you get this list if you choose NOT to install the recommended Win98 driver). Among them was "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller (Microsoft) 4-28-96" (the OSR2 version). I selected it, and guess what? My CD-ROM drive was successfully detected (FINALLY!), and is now working properly, the "CDROM" item is now listed in Device Manager, and ALL the drives in my system are now using Win98's "File System: 32-bit", as stated in the System Properties Performance tab.

My "home-made" PC specs are listed here.

NOTES:
  1. BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM + REGISTRY FILES FIRST!
  2. If you believe you have a similar problem, download the OSR2 MSHDC.INF file [6 KB].

Back 2 Contents
• 2-23-99 Updated Win98/ME Registry ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


FASTER APP LOAD
[UPDATED 2-23-99]


Microsoft introduced a new "smart" tool with Windows 98/98 SE/ME called WinAlign [%windir%\SYSTEM\WALIGN.EXE].

Get WALIGN.EXE (from Windows ME), WINALIGN.EXE + Windows Magazine WALIGN.BAT [36 KB, free, unsupported].

Winalign allows a program, when loading in memory, to reuse the physical RAM to "fit" that particular executable in the same portion of RAM used for disk sector cache. Therefore less physical memory is used for a program executable. Program data though still uses the same RAM amount. This is done by linking a program's executable with a 4 KB (4096 Bytes) memory boundary.
This may result in a major benefit by regaining precious memory on Win98/ME computers with only 16-32 MB RAM. On the other hand, this is barely noticeable on systems with 64 MB or more.
Significant memory gain by using Winalign is only observed when launching large executables.
Winalign DOES NOT decrease application loading time when running a program!
The ONLY way you can speed up the loading times of your programs is by using Win98/ME's new Defrag and Task Monitor tools together (jointly developed by Intel and Microsoft), to defragment all your fixed drives/partitions with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" Defrag box checked, and by having this TaskMon command line as String value (Windows default):

C:\Windows\Taskmon.exe

under this Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

to run the Task Monitor tool in the background every time Windows loads.
As far as I'm aware, the only programs designed to be "recompiled" by Winalign are written by Microsoft. :(

You MUST BE AWARE that by "aligning" a 3rd party program executable (NOT specifically designed to be used with WinAlign) without FIRST checking with the program's developer/vendor exposes YOU (as licensed/registered user) to a few RISKS:

More info:

Follow these steps to optimize your system:

  1. Delete, but FIRST BACKUP to a safe location using Explorer's right-click menu Copy function, ALL .LG* files: .LGC, .LGD, .LGE... etc, located in your %windir%\APPLOG subfolder, depending on how many hard drives/partitions you have: C, D, E... etc. This will get rid of all .LG* files (including the 0 bytes files) created for "buggy" apps that do not meet the requirements defined in %windir%\APPLOG\Optlog.txt (you can view its contents in Notepad), and which are just taking disk space.
    Not to worry, these files will be recreated for each app, the first time you run a particular program, if Task Monitor is running when Windows loads (see above). :)

  2. Defrag your drives with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" box checked.
    Repeat this procedure periodically (at least once a month), eventually scheduling periodic unattended defrags on all your fixed drives using Task Scheduler. A good idea is to ScanDisk all your fixed drives prior to defragging them, to fix eventual lost clusters or disk errors.
    On large drives (over 2 GB), especially if partitioned with FAT32, these tasks can take a long time (sometimes hours) to complete, so it is advised to leave your computer on at all times, and/or schedule such maintenance chores at night time (or when your machine is not in use).

  3. Follow the guidelines in this comprehensive Windows Magazine WinAlign page, to properly "align" the programs you want, or "unalign" the ones that have already been modified.

NOTE: See also "MAP THE CACHE", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details.

WARNING: Users of Quarterdeck MagnaRAM 97, QEMM 9.0, Sincronys Windrenalin, McAfee (formerly Helix) Hurricane 98 v1.0x, and/or similar utilities are advised not to use the application acceleration/faster loading features in these retail products the same time with the "Intel Application Launch Accelerator" feature built into the 98/ME Disk Defragmenter tool, because your computer may LOCK UP unexpectedly!
Also, above 3rd party tools acceleration features may CONFLICT with the DMA setting enabled for your fixed/removable drives, available from: Control Panel → System → Device Manager tab → Disk Drives/CDROM → your drive name Properties → Settings tab → DMA check box!
SOLUTION: If you own any of these programs or similars, contact the vendor for Windows 98/ME specific upgrades!

UPDATES:

  1. "I applied your recommendations on how to optimize load times, as soon as I saw this on your site. However, over the time I noticed that my fav apps only loaded slower and slower. I had clocked the times some of my apps would take to load right after having converted my discs to FAT32, and when I compared these times with the ones I was getting lately I was shocked.
    WordPerfect was down to 13 sec vs 4-5 sec and Netscape took 11-12 sec vs 7-8 in the beginning. To make a long story short: I got this advice from Dr Gokart at Lockergnome Newsgroups:
    "Check out this how-to on everything dealing with Walign.
    And something else: Walign does not run unless Microsoft Office is installed. Adding the following Registry key will make it run:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Office8.0
    Just an empty default entry is sufficient."
    This has worked wonders! Before applying this, neither WordPerfect nor Netscape were even present in my Optlog.txt, and after creating above Registry line they immediately swung up on top.
    Now after running Walign and Defrag, my apps' load times are almost down to where they were after switching to FAT32, those times being fractionally slower than with FAT16."
    [Thank you Jan!]

  2. "When aligning your programs, deleting WinAlign's history doesn't always work, no matter how much memory you have, or how many times you have defragged your drives. Fortunately, there are 2 ways to force program "alignment".
    First, try WinAlign [41 KB, free, unsupported], part of the Microsoft Windows 98 Resource Kit (RK), which partially recompiles a given file to optimize it into 4096 Byte (4K) segments, by matching the program's code with the 4 KB page size used by Intel Pentium/Pro/II/III/IV CPUs. This allows them to load by using less memory.
    Second, try Windows Magazine's WMAlign batch file [36 KB, free, unsupported], which does the exact same thing, but in a different way, using the "dumbed-down" version of 98/ME WAlign, which is also used by Disk Defragmenter when you optimize your files by "making your programs to load faster".
    It even makes a backup copy in case the alignment corrupts a program!
    WAlign also creates a log of optimized files to prevent a program from being realigned.
    If you have reinstalled a program, changed its file attributes, moved it around etc, and need to realign it, you need to delete WinAlign's history.
    To do this, run Regedit and go to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinAlign\Drives
    and delete all entries found there. Then delete the "Files" subkey.
    Now you can safely realign your programs."
    [Thank you Andrew!]

Back 2 Contents
• 7-13-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


98 SCREEN SETTINGS


In Win98 you can change your Desktop screen size and color depth "on the fly" (without the need for a reboot/restart). Just add a Display Settings icon to the System Tray. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop and select Properties. In the Display Properties Settings tab, click Advanced and check the "Show settings icon on the taskbar" box. From now on, right-click on the new tray icon and select the color resolution/screen size you'd like to switch to.

Back 2 Contents
• 7-13-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


STICKY DESKTOP ICONS


To force all your Desktop icons "stick" where you have placed them, and prevent them from ligning up to the left side of your screen, right-click on an empty Desktop area, select Arrange Icons, and uncheck Auto arrange.
Press F5 to refresh the Desktop when done.

Back 2 Contents
• 7-9-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


98 ESSENTIALS


One sunny day [a bit after June 25th 1998 :-)], I have finally decided to install the retail release of Windows 98 Upgrade. It's supposed to "make our lives easier", right? Wrong! My 98 troubles [and counting :-)] were just beginning.
First, whenever I was trying to shut down the GUI and go back to the true (native) MS-DOS mode prompt, my computer was locking up! This meant war!

NOTE: Read "DOS NOW!", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], to learn how to go to the true MS-DOS prompt after Win98 shuts down, and also to be able to restart Windows again as many times as you want, WITHOUT rebooting!

Well, here it is folks, you need to use a small utility hidden in your \Windows\System folder, that allows the tweaking of most ALL important bootup/start/shut-down settings: MSCONFIG.EXE. Run Msconfig (System Configuration Utility) and click away its tabs to see the settings available on your machine.
You can enable/disable the processing of EACH separate line/section in: CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, MSDOS.SYS. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. :) For more tweaks click the Advanced button.
Here is actually where I wanted to get. To restore the proper Win98/98 SE shut down function I had to check the "Disable fast shutdown" box.

UPDATES:
  1. Get the "fixed" Win98 SE MSCONFIG.EXE 4.10.2223, which also disables the Fast shutdown Registry setting.
    More info.
  2. Microsoft disabled Fast shutdown completely in the Windows Millennium Edition (ME) Registry and MSCONFIG.EXE.

Another way to achieve this is to edit the Registry. Run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Shutdown

Modify the "FastReboot" String value in the right hand pane to read 0 (default value is 1).

NOTE: ANY changes made to these settings require a Windows restart!

My "home-made" PC specs are listed here.
As you have noticed, my machine components are not that old, and still, Windows canNOT shut it down properly IF the "fast shutdown" feature is enabled. :(

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: If you have hardware related problems installing/using Win98, contact your device manufacturer/vendor for support. Most OEMs/VARs/vendors have posted specific guidelines/updates/fixes at their WWW/FTP sites.

Other Windows 98 system tools (some new, some "inherited" from Win95) you might consider using to keep your system in tip-top shape:

  1. In your Windows 98 folder:

    • ACCSTAT.EXE = Windows Accessibility Status Indicator
    • ASD.EXE = Automatic Skip Driver
    • CLEANMGR.EXE = Disk Space Cleanup Manager
    • CVT1.EXE = FAT32 Drive Converter tool
    • DEFRAG.EXE = Disk Defragmenter (includes Intel application optimizer)
    • DRWATSON.EXE = Dr. Watson Windows Diagnostic tool
    • HWINFO.EXE = Hardware Information
    • REGEDIT.EXE = Registry Editor (16-bit, also available in native MS-DOS)
    • RSRCMTR.EXE = Resource Meter
    • SCANDSKW.EXE = Scan Disk tool
    • SCANREGW.EXE = Registry Checker
    • SIGVERIF.EXE = Signature Verification tool
    • SNDVOL32.EXE = Volume Control
    • SYSMON.EXE = System Monitor
    • TASKMAN.EXE = Task Manager
    • TASKMON.EXE = Task Monitor (used by DEFRAG.EXE + SCANREGW.EXE)
    • TUNEUP.EXE = Maintenance Wizard
    • VCMUI.EXE = Version Conflict Manager
    • WINFILE.EXE = Windows File Manager (FM) (16-bit, LFNs unaware)
    • WINIPCFG.EXE = TCP/IP Configuration tool
    • WINPOPUP.EXE = WinPopup network messaging tool
    • WINREP.EXE = Problem Report tool (send to Microsoft support)
    • WINVER.EXE = Windows Version utility
    • WSCRIPT.EXE = Windows Scripting Host
    • WUPDMGR.EXE = Windows Update Manager (Internet connection required)

  2. In your \Windows\System subfolder:

    • ACCWIZ.EXE = Microsoft Accessibility Wizard
    • IESHWIZ.EXE = Customize Folder tool
    • INTERNAT.EXE = Keyboard Language Indicator monitor
    • MAGNIFY.EXE = Magnify tool
    • MKCOMPAT.EXE = Make Compatible App tool
    • MSCONFIG.EXE = System Configuration tool (use with CAUTION!)
    • MSTASK.EXE = Task Scheduler
    • SAGE.EXE = Task Scheduler Sage Compatibility
    • SFC.EXE = System File Checker
    • SRW.EXE = System Recovery Wizard
    • SYSAGENT.EXE = Task Scheduler loader
    • SYSEDIT.EXE = System Editor tool (16-bit, edit: AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, SYSTEM.INI + WIN.INI)
    • SYSTRAY.EXE = System Tray Applet (used by MSTASK.EXE/SAGE.EXE, POWERCFG.CPL + SNDVOL32.EXE)
    • WALIGN.EXE = WinAlign tool

  3. In the \Program Files folder, in the...

    • \Program Files\Accessories\Backup subfolder:
      MSBACKUP.EXE = Backup tool
    • \Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo subfolder:
      MSINFO32.EXE = System Information

  4. On your Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM [NOT installed by default!], in the...

    • \Tools\Msutil\Fat32ebd subfolder:
      FAT32EBD.EXE = FAT32 Emergency Boot Disk
    • \Tools\Reskit\Config subfolder:
      FAT32WIN.EXE = FAT32 Conversion Information
      TZEDIT.EXE = Time Zone Editor
    • \Tools\Msutil\Pmtshoot subfolder:
      PMTSHOOT.EXE = Power Management Trouble Shooter
    • \Tools\Reskit\Netadmin\Poledit subfolder:
      POLEDIT.EXE = Policy Editor
    • \Tools\Reskit\Desktop subfolder:
      CLIPTRAY.EXE = Clipboard Tray (add selected text to the Clipboard)
      CHKLNKS.EXE = Links Check Wizard
      QUIKTRAY.EXE = Quick Tray (add programs to the Tray)
    • \Tools\Reskit\File subfolder:
      TEXTVIEW.EXE = Text File Viewer
      WINDIFF.EXE = File Comparison tool
    • \Tools\Reskit\File\Lfnback subfolder:
      LFNBK.EXE = Long File Names Backup tool
    • \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy subfolder:
      TWEAKUI.INF = TweakUI Power Toy Information file: right-click on it and select Install. When done, open Control Panel and (double-)click TweakUI.

If some of these tools are not installed on your system, open Control Panel, and select Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, and check the programs you want to install from the list (not all are available for automatic install). Make sure your Win98 setup CD-ROM is in the drive.

See "95/98/ME SETUP SWITCHES", also in TIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], to learn how to custom-install Windows 95/98 on your PC.

UPDATE FOR WIN98 LAPTOP USERS: [Thank you Ojatex!]
"Even after disabling "Fast shut down" by running Msconfig, using SHIFT on Reboot with Win98 still throws WRITE PROTECTION ERRORS necessitating one or more cold boot-downs and boot-ups on my system. Possibly this is caused by the laptop's various shut-down power modes. On my system, there are 3 different shut-off options:

  1. full power-off
  2. standby
  3. hibernation

These are designed to optimize battery use and conserve power as well as save time for re-starting. In light of the above experience, I think it's wise not to recommend to laptop owners to try disabling "Fast shut down" in order to re-enable the SHIFT on RE-BOOT feature."
NOTE: See also "SHIFT 2 RESTART 95/98", also in TIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details.

Back 2 Contents
• 7-7-98 Win98 ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


98 INSTALL BLUES


This procedure is supposed to work for installing ANY retail/final/gamma/Gold/RTM/OEM/MSDN version of Windows 98 (retail upgrade, retail full release or OEM full release), on ANY "Wintel" PC or compatible (486DX/66 and above), with or without a previous version of Windows, without getting error messages like:

"You are trying to setup the OEM release of Windows 98 on a computer that already has an Operating System installed. Get the upgrade version and try again."

or:

"A previous installation of Windows was not found. Setup aborted."

Necessary steps:

  1. Load your MS-DOS mode CD-ROM driver in your CONFIG.SYS, load MSCDEX.EXE in your AUTOEXEC.BAT (both these files reside in C:\ root by default) and then reboot. Create (if not present) or modify them with Notepad/Sysedit in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS. Examples:

    • CONFIG.SYS CD-ROM driver line (replace CDROM.SYS with your MS-DOS mode CD/DVD driver):

      DEVICE=C:\CDROM\CDROM.SYS /D:MYCDROM

    • AUTOEXEC.BAT MSCDEX line:

      MSCDEX.EXE /D:MYCDROM

    Note that your CD/DVD drive name ("MYCDROM" in this example) MUST be IDENTICAL on BOTH lines above!
    See "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details.

  2. IF you are installing the OEM full release of Win98, rename all the WIN*.* files ("*" is a DOS wildcard to include all files containing the "WIN" string at the beginning of the filename, no matter the extension): WIN.COM, WIN.INI, WINVER.EXE etc, found ANYWHERE on your fixed disks to something like: WINOLD.COM, WINOLD.INI, WINVEROL.EXE etc, or move them temporarily to a removable disk(ette), into appropriate directories, so you know which versions of Windows they originated from.

  3. This step is necessary ONLY for OEM installations of Win98. Create a new "dummy" file called NTLDR in C:\ root (only if you don't already have one from a previous Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 install) by running this DOS command:

    ECHO.>C:\NTLDR

    Then install Win98 OEM by running:

    SETUP /NTLDR

    from the native MS-DOS.

  4. If you try to install the Win98 Upgrade on an empty disk/partition, you will be asked to insert the Setup CD-ROM or floppies that contain an older version of Windows/WfWG. Win98 Setup checks for ANY: WINSETUP.BIN, PRECOPYx.CAB and WIN_95xx.CAB files supposedly located on a Win95/OSR2 install CD-ROM, and/or for Windows/WfWG 3.xx install floppies.
    If you have any of these CD-ROMs/floppies, you can copy the installation files to a directory on your hard disk to speedup the search.

  5. Run the Win98 OEM release SETUP from the real (true) MS-DOS mode: change to your CD-ROM drive, type SETUP and press Enter.

  6. If you run SETUP from Windows, there is a possibility you might have a SETUPPP.INF file installed by almost any Win95 version in your \Windows\Inf subfolder. Open it in Notepad and add/modify these lines under the [data] section to read:

    OEMUP=1
    ProductType=1

    Now run Setup from the Win98 CD-ROM, and stop at the license agreement (EULA) screen. Hold CTRL and press ESC to bring up the Start Menu. Run Notepad, browse to the \Windows.000 or \Wininst0.400 temporary folder, and open Setuppp.inf. Insert/change the same lines as shown above, under the [data] header and save the file. Hold ALT and press TAB to return to Setup, and finally, continue the installation.
    Another advantage of having these lines present in ALL your copies of Setuppp.inf is that you won't be prompted to insert your old Windows 3.xx/95 Setup CD-ROM/floppies anymore when installing the Win98 upgrade.

MUST READ:

Back 2 Contents
• 7-7-98 Win98/ME ©Trick in TIPS98.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


WHERE IS LOGO.SYS?


If you looked in the root folder of your Win98/98 SE/ME boot drive (C:\), you may have noticed that the Logo.sys file (known as the bootup or startup logo to Win95/OSR2 users) is not there anymore. :(
In fact the Win98/ME logo is built into IO.SYS, a read-only, hidden, system file, located in C:\ root by default.
But you can place your own custom or even animated LOGO.SYS in C:\ root [and also in the default compressed volume root directory (H:\) if using the Microsoft disk compression tool: DrvSpace, ONLY IF you have partitioned your boot drive/partition (C) with FAT16!], and have it displayed next time you boot into Windows.
LOGO.SYS must be a 320x400 pixels, 256 colors, RGB encoded, uncompressed Windows BitMaP (.BMP format), with the .SYS extension.
File size doesn't matter. It is minimum 129,078 Bytes for static logos, animated logos being a little larger, because they contain the scrolling colors code. Take a look at the size of some of these animated logos [1 MB, freeware].
To have your Win98/ME OS display a logo at startup, just edit MSDOS.SYS (another C:\ root read-only, hidden, system file, also found on H:\ root if using DrvSpace) with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, and add/modify this line under the [Options] section to read:

Logo=1

To be able to edit MSDOS.SYS, you need to first "strip" it of its read-only, hidden and system attributes. This can be done by running this command from any DOS prompt:

ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\MSDOS.SYS

After you're done editing it, you can restore its original attributes (optional):

ATTRIB +H +R +S C:\MSDOS.SYS

Better, to perform all above operations with a single mouse (double-)click, run SYS95.BAT, included with W95-11D.EXE.
The only time you'll see a Logo.sys file in C:\ root is before you boot into Win98/ME for the first time, right after OS installation has completed.
On Win98/98 SE systems it says: "Getting ready to run Windows for the first time", and is deleted after the second boot: filename Sulogo.sys, located in \Win98\Win98_46.cab (Win98 retail), \Win98\Win98_52.cab (Win98 SE) or \Win9x\Win_19.cab (WinME retail) from your Windows Setup CD.
To extract it to C:\ root (and see it next time upon boot) from your CD-ROM, run these DOS commands (replace the CD/DVD drive letter if different on your computer):

EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB SULOGO.SYS
REN C:\SULOGO.SYS LOGO.SYS

Win98 SE owners need to use D:\WIN98\WIN98_52.CAB instead.
WinME owners need to use D:\WIN9X\WIN_19.CAB instead.
If you already have a Logo.sys file in C:\ root, make sure to back it up first. :)
Reboot when done.

FYI:

Back 2 Contents
• 7-1-98 Win9x/ME/IE Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


UNCLUTTER START MENU


These Registry hacks work with Win95/OSR1/OSR2 ONLY IF upgraded with MS IE 4 or newer, and with Win98/98 SP1/98 SE/ME. Win98 + ME install MS IE anyway, no choice there. :(

    To unclutter your Start Menu, and to enable only the items you want listed when you click the Start button, run Regedit (found in your Windows folder) and go to:

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

  1. To make the "Log Off" prompt disappear from your Start Menu, look in the right hand pane for the "NoLogOff" entry. Create it if not present, by right-clicking in the left hand pane, and then selecting New → Binary Value. Name it NoLogOff. (Double-)click it and assign it the Value Data below (don't type the spaces):

    01 00 00 00

    Don't worry about the other zeroes already present, the values you typed are inserted automatically.
    Click OK to save your change. Close Regedit and then restart your computer.
    To reenable the Log Off menu, change "NoLogOff" to read (this is the default):

    00 00 00 00

    or delete it entirely.
    You only need (or have installed) the Log Off prompt if your machine is connected to a network, thus enabling different users to log on under their own separate system configurations (mainly for security purposes), in which case it's wise to keep it on the Start Menu.

  2. This one is for users who don't like using the IE Favorites folder outside the IE interface (the only difference is when you open the Favorites menu from the Start button, it displays its contents in the same window). It also takes quite a while to "dig" through all your Favorites folders and subfolders to get to the link you're looking for, if you have a load of them, like I do.
    To make the Favorites item disappear from your Start Menu, run Regedit and look in the right hand pane of the same Registry key (shown above) for the "NoFavoritesMenu" entry.
    If it's not there, create it: right-click and choose New → DWORD Value. Rename it to read "NoFavoritesMenu" (no quotes). Now (double-)click on it and give it a Value Data of 1. Click OK to save it. Now close Regedit and restart Windows.
    You can still access the Favorites menu from any Explorer window, but not from your Start Menu from now on.

  3. Want to further slim down your Start Menu? Well then, I have another one for you.
    To disable the Documents menu from the Start button AND to "annihilate" the \Windows\Recent subfolder, go to the Registry key mentioned above, and search in the right hand pane for the "NoRecentDocsHistory" entry. If you can't find it, create it. Right-click it and select New → Binary Value. Name it NoRecentDocsHistory. (Double-)click on it and type in the Value Data field:

    01 00 00 00

    Don't type the spaces though. Click OK or press Enter to save.
    Now you need to repeat the steps above to add/modify another Binary Value called "NoRecentDocsMenu" (don't type the quotes), and then give it the same numeric value, but don't type the spaces:

    01 00 00 00

    Close the Registry Editor and restart your system.
    You'll notice that the Documents item is now absent from your Start Menu, and your \Windows\Recent folder has disappeared. Hocus-pocus, all gone!

NOTE: Win98/ME and Win95/OSR1/OSR2 users who installed MS IE 4/5/6 can also access some of these settings (and much more) by using TweakUI [110 KB, free, unsupported].
Right-click on Tweakui.inf and select Install. Then run TweakUI from Control Panel.

Back 2 Contents
©1996-2013 MDGx (a.k.a. AXCEL216): Everything here is FREEware. Always ad(vertisment)s, cookies, malware + spyware free. I have created [August 1996], maintain and update these web pages entirely by hand using Programmer's File Editor [replaced Notepad].
I do not promote, speak in the behalf of, advertise or work for any computing, news or internet profit business. All ©copyrights and ®registered ™trademarks retain owners' property.

Back!