WinDOwS Tricks - Part 10

Go to ALL WinDOwS ©Tricks + Secrets Contents

1. Hold down F8 (in OSR2) or Ctrl (in Win98) to bring up the Startup Menu.

2. Use your numeric keys or up/down arrow keys to select the "Command prompt only" choice, and then press Enter. It is option #5 if not using a Network or TCP/IP, or option #6 if connected to a Network or/and using TCP/IP protocol.

3. Run this command from the DOS prompt:

   REGEDIT C:\NODMA.REG HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ENUM\ESDI

   to save (export) the HKLM Registry key above to a plain text file (NODMA.REG). The .REG extension is necessary in case you would like to reenable the DMA feature again (with CAUTION!), by merging (registering) the info contained in NODMA.REG back into your Registry.

4. Edit NODMA.REG with EDIT.COM (the default MS-DOS text/ASCII editor, located in C:\Windows\Command), by running this command:

   EDIT C:\NODMA.REG

5. Change ALL these lines (you probably have more than one, depending on how many types of drives are installed on your machine):

   "DMACurrentlyUsed"=hex:01

   to read:

   "DMACurrentlyUsed"=hex:00

6. Save your file, and then import (merge) it into your Registry, by running:

   REGEDIT C:\NODMA.REG

   This turns off the DMA support on all your drives, allowing the Windows 9x GUI to load once again.

7. Now start Windows by running:

   WIN

   Done.

To turn on DMA for all (I)IDE/(P)ATA hard disks in Windows 95/98/ME:
• Run DMA_ON.EXE [107 KB] -> reboot.
• Or open Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Disk drives/CDROM -> Properties -> Settings tab -> check the DMA box -> reboot.
But keep NODMA.REG handy, just in case you need to do this again on a dark, cloudy day. ;(

NOTE: This fix affects ALL Windows 95/98/ME 56K modem Internet PPP (Point to Point Protocol) and Dial-Up Connection (DUN) hookups, no matter what Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Online Service you are using.

"Hi Captain,

In your MODEMS.TXT file you write:

"MaxMTU Fix

Some people have found that their Internet file transfers are quite slow, often between 900 - 1,800 characters per second, even on a 56k modem."

This problem was a plague even though I usually connect to AOL at 41,333 - 49,333 bps and browsing is fairly speedy. However download speed of files was miserable. There is a "fix" that works quite well on my system:

1. Open Control Panel -> Modems.
2. From General Tab select Properties.
3. Select Connection Tab -> Advanced.
4. Under Add Extra Settings, enter the following:

   ATS27=64S15=128

This increased my download speed to 4.5 - 5.0 kbps."

FYI:

• Captain's MODEMS.TXT is included with W95-11D.EXE for your reading pleasure.
• See also "56K MODEMS @ 56K SPEED", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details using 56K modems to connect to the Internet in Windows 9x/ME.

"Starts Windows.

WIN [/D:[F][M][S][V][X]]

/D      Used for troubleshooting when Windows does not start correctly.
  :F    Turns off 32-bit disk access.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: 32BitDiskAccess=FALSE.
  :M    Enables Safe mode.
        This is automatically enabled during Safe start (function key F5).
  :N    Enables Safe mode with networking.
        This is automatically enabled during Safe start (function key F6).
  :S    Specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between
        F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE.
  :V    Specifies that the ROM routine will handle interrupts from the hard
        disk controller.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE.
  :X    Excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that
        Windows scans to find unused space.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: EMMExclude=A000-FFFF."

Windows/WfWG 3.xx users: When you run WIN /? from a DOS prompt, you get this screen:

"Starts Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (or Windows 3.1).

WIN [/B] [/N] [/D:[C][F][S][V][X]]

/B      Creates a file, BOOTLOG.TXT, that records system messages generated
        during system startup (boot).
/N      Causes Windows not to load network drivers.
/D:     Used in combination with one or more of the following switches for
        troubleshooting when Windows does not start correctly.
   C    Turns off 32-bit file access.
   F    Turns off 32-bit disk access.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: 32BitDiskAccess=FALSE.
   S    Specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between
        F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE.
   V    Specifies that the ROM routine will handle interrupts from the hard
        disk controller.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE.
   X    Excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that
        Windows scans to find unused space.
        Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: EMMExclude=A000-FFFF."

These switches are meant to provide you with command line options for starting Win95/98 in special troubleshooting modes (safe, bootlogged, etc) if you are having problems running and/or loading Windows on your system.
Hope you'll never have to use them...
For example, to start Windows in safe mode, run:

WIN /D:M

which is similar with using boot option 3 (Safe mode) from the Microsoft Windows 95 (98) Startup Menu.
Some of these WIN.COM switches can also be loaded by adding/modifying SYSTEM.INI lines, under the [386enh] section (see above). SYSTEM.INI resides in your Windows folder and can be edited using Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, but BACK IT UP FIRST!

To be able to load Windows manually after your PC is done processing your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, from the DOS prompt, or from your AUTOEXEC.BAT, you will have to edit MSDOS.SYS (a hidden, read-only, system file, located in C:\ root by default), and add/modify the following line:

BootGUI=0

under the [Options] section.
To edit MSDOS.SYS in DOS mode run SYS95.BAT [part of W95-11D.EXE] from any DOS prompt.

FYI:

• To MAXimize your Windows performance read "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
• To learn about the UNDOCUMENTED WIN.COM switches read "WIN.COM HIDDEN PARAMETERS", also in SECRETS.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
• MSKB: Windows 95/98 WIN.COM Command Line Switches.
• MSKB: Windows 3.1 WIN.COM Command Switches.

1. To create the "Exit to DOS.pif" (Program Information File) executable:

   You will need to shut down Windows and restart in MS-DOS mode, then go back into Win95/98 in order for the "Exit to DOS.pif" file to be created in your Windows folder. According to this MSKB article, to define custom CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to be processed when you restart your computer using the "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" Shut down... option, follow these steps:

   1. Click the Start button -> click Shut Down -> click "Restart (the computer) in MS-DOS mode" -> click Yes/OK.

   2. At the MS-DOS command prompt -> type "EXIT" (without quotation marks) -> press Enter.

      NOTE: Steps 1-2 are IMPORTANT if you have never used the "Restart (the computer) in MS-DOS mode" option before. The "Exit to DOS.pif" file is not created until you perform these steps the first time.

   3. Start Windows Explorer.

   4. Highlight the "Exit to DOS" file in the Windows folder. Right-click on it -> select Properties.

   5. Click the Program tab -> click Advanced -> deselect the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" box.

   6. Check the "MS-DOS mode" box -> click the Advanced tab -> check the "Specify A New MS-DOS Configuration" option.

   7. Define the custom CONFIG.SYS file in the "CONFIG.SYS For MS-DOS Mode" box. Define the custom AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the "AUTOEXEC.BAT For MS-DOS Mode" box.
   8. Click OK/Apply to close all dialog boxes.

   From now on, each time when you'll restart your system using the "Restart (the computer) in MS-DOS mode" option, your custom CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files will be processed.

2. To shut down Windows 95/98 to the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS prompt from a Desktop icon, follow the same steps above, except select the "Use current MS-DOS configuration" instead of "Specify A New MS-DOS Configuration" at step #6. Name this new batch file EXIT2DOS.BAT, place it in a folder of your choice, and then create a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Also, you can skip steps 1-2 above when creating EXIT2DOS.BAT.

NOTES:

• Read "2 DOS OR NOT 2 DOS", also included in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for details on all Windows 95/98 "Boot to DOS" options.
• Read the "General Tips for Using MS-DOS Mode" MSKB article.

HINT: This tip is valuable for those who would like to play a VGA/SVGA/3D DOS game that won't run from a DOS box/session within the Win95/98 GUI. [Sounds familiar?! :-)]

"This is my tip for fixing the window size and position Win95 bug.
I'm running Win95 with IE 4.01, which allows to store into the registry the size and position of 99 windows, in addition to the "Desktop" window.
Nevertheless, my PC sometimes loses my preferred window size and position.
I've solved the problem this way:

1. Open and resize/re-position all the windows you usually use and wouldn't like to change: Desktop, My Computer, Control Panel, Network Neighborhood etc.
2. Launch RegEdit and select:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams

   and export it to a file called "MyWindows1.reg" (don't type the quotes).

3. Launch RegEdit and select:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StreamMRU

   and export it to a file called "MyWindows2.reg".

4. In Notepad, open "MyWindows2.reg", select all text except the first line (REGEDIT4), and press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text to the clipboard.
5. In Notepad, switch to "MyWindows1.reg", go to the end of the text, and press Ctrl+V to paste the text copied from "MyWindows2.reg".
6. In Notepad, save the modified "MyWindows1.reg" to a directory on the hard disk. Eventually, change its name to "MyWindows.reg", or any other name you like.

From now on, every time Win95 loses your preferred window size and position, simply double-click on "MyWindows.reg", and all of your windows will return to their (your) best-preferred state.

PS: Don't leave any blank spaces within .REG file names, otherwise Win95 will be unable to restore the information from the file by double-clicking on it."

NOTE: Read "SAVE SETTINGS - Part 1", also in REGISTRY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for an alternative Registry fix to keep your most used window positions in Windows 95/OSR1.

"Use Regedit to go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

Modify or create a new String Value called "WindowTitle" and give it anything you want as its value, i.e. "My Email Program" (no quotes).
This will change your MS Outlook Express title bar text."

FYI: Check out these comprehensive OE User Tips pages.

"Change the "Current Time Zone" in Date/Time Properties in Control Panel. The old name for my Current Time Zone was Taipei Standard Time. Well that is far away from Malaysia. But a little tweak can fix this. Use Regedit to browse to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\TimeZoneInformation

Modify/create a string called "StandardName" and give it the value "Malaysian Standard Time" (no quotes please).
Next time you open Control Panel's Date/Time applet it will display "Malaysia Standard Time"."

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse

or to:

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Mouse

if you are the only user on this computer.
In the right hand pane, right-click to create a new DWORD Value (or modify it if already present) named "ActiveWindowTracking" (don't type the quotes) and set its Decimal value to 1 to enable it.
Now create (or modify if already present) another DWORD Value called "SnapToDefaultButton" (no quotes) and set its Decimal value to 1, to have your mouse "snap" to the active window default button.
In Windows 2000/XP "SnapToDefaultButton" is a String Value.
To disable these features set the Decimal values to 0 or delete these Values altogether.

MEANING:

• AutoRaise: Your mouse controls window activation by moving the mouse pointer over any open window, which automatically becomes the active (foreground) window.

• Mouse Focus: Your mouse moves automatically ("snaps") to the top of the default (highlighted) button of the active window.

This procedure is similar to using the Microsoft TweakUI Power Toy for Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME X-Mouse settings [110 KB, free, unsupported].
Install TweakUI by right-clicking on TweakUI.inf and selecting Install.
Click TweakUI's Mouse tab and check the "Activation follows mouse (X-Mouse)" and "Autoraise when activating" boxes. Make sure the "Activation delay (ms)" box is set to ANY value other than zero (0), otherwise this won't work!
Click OK when done. You may have to restart Windows to see these effects.

BUG: Netscape browsers menus may stop working if AutoRaise is turned ON!

FYI: Get XMouse2000 improved Microsoft XMouse replacement for Windows 98/2000/ME [9 KB, freeware], which sets: Mouse Focus, AutoRaise and proper Delay.

aol://5862:144/members.aol.com:/yourscreenname

or its alias (same thing, but less typing):

aol://5862:144/users.aol.com:/yourscreenname

Replace the "yourscreenname" string above with your real AOL screen name. Name this new item whatever you want.
To do this, simply click on "Keyword" from the "Go to" menu, and type "My place" (no quotes) in the dialog box. When you get there, simply drag the heart shaped icon at the top right side into the Favorite Places window. Then go ahead and access your AOL FTP place:

ftp://members.aol.com:/yourscreenname

or:

ftp://users.aol.com:/yourscreenname

from within the AOL interface (even if you connect to AOL using another primary ISP, like I do), by starting your AOL built-in web browser, to see how much free space you have left. AOL provides 2 Mb (2,000,000 bytes) of web/ftp space for each screen name, and you can create up to 5 screen names per individual account, for a total of 10 Mb (10,000,000 bytes).
Notice that when AOL says 10 Mb (Megabits), they mean exactly 2,000,000 bits, NOT 10 MB (MegaBytes) which translates into 1,048,576 Bytes per MegaByte, which amounts to 10,485,760 Bytes. This is because they calculate it using the bit unit (1 Byte = 8 bits) and the decimal system (1 Kilobit = 1,000 bits), NOT the Byte unit or the Byte multiplication system (1 KiloByte = 1,024 Bytes).
Therefore if you do the math, you'll see that AOL's 10 Megabytes are actually 240 KiloBytes "shorter". Bummer... Talk about "savings". :(
BUT [there always must be a BUT :)] if you had subscribed by listing one (or more) of your AOL web pages with the HomeTown web site (a free advertising service for AOLers), using your AOL built-in web browser, before November 1st 1998, you must have by now an extra 10 Mb of FTP space (wow!) added to your default 2 Mb, allocated to the screen name where your HomeTown listed page resides.
If you didn't get your extra 10 Mb yet, send e-mail to AOLInsider@aol.com.
If you missed this one-time offer, you can still "expand" your AOL FTP space by adding some of (or all) your web pages to HomeTown AOL. See this page for details.
When you submit your web page to HomeTown AOL, the default AOL URL changes from (example):

http://members.aol.com/yourscreenname/

to (automatically redirected):

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/yourscreenname/

You can also access the same page at this URL:

http://hometown.aol.com/yourscreenname/

and they also place a (non-removable) frame on top of your page, which contains AOL related ads.
Good luck!

NOTE: You must be using AOL software 3.0 or newer to be able to do all this.

"BUG:

This tip is for those PC users who have an MPEG card and a DVD drive for watching movies in Windows 95/98.
Sometimes the PC may hang up. May be the DVD (CD) is damaged or dirty, or the disk format isn't compatible, the thing is the MPEG player cannot return to the desktop after the movie is over.

SOLUTION:

Just eject the DVD or CD manually and insert a new one (also valid for movie CDs). You'll be returned to the desktop again by the MPEG player, not to a blank screen.

If this fails, you'll have to press ALT+TAB once, then press CTRL+ALT+DEL and ENTER at the blank screen.
ALT+TAB will return the desktop to the active program (MPEG player). And the CRTL+ALT+DEL and ENTER combination will close the MPEG player. The "buggy" program should be highlighted in the End Task property box. This procedure might just get your desktop back.

CAUSE:

MPEG cards take over the monitor from the primary display video card and don't allow it to return to normal operation."

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon

Create the "Logon" subkey if it is not present on your machine: highlight the Network key -> right-click in the left hand Regedit pane -> select New -> Key -> name it "Logon" (no quotes) -> press Enter. Then add/modify a DWORD value and call it "MustBeValidated" (don't type the quotes). Double-click it, check the Decimal box and type 1 for value.
Close the Registry Editor when done.
Now click the Start button -> Shut Down (Log off UserName) -> Log on as a different user, and you'll notice that the Logon Cancel button/Esc key has been disabled. ;)

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]  
@="Recycle Bin"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
"Attributes"=hex:40,01,00,20

------End cut & paste here------

Restoring Recycle Bin's icon after deletion requires a screen refresh: press F5 after left-clicking on an empty Desktop area.
Save all Registry edits below between the "cut & paste" lines as .REG files, using Notepad.
Then merge (register) the information into the Registry by (double)-clicking on the respective .REG file in Explorer or File Manager.
And now let's have some fun:

1. Add Delete and Rename to Recycle Bin's right-click (context) menu:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
   "Attributes"=hex:70,01,00,20

   ------End cut & paste here------

   Adding Delete and Rename takes effect instantly.

2. Dim (disable) Recycle Bin's desktop icon:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
   "Attributes"=hex:40,01,08,20

   ------End cut & paste here------

3. Add Copy, Cut and Paste to Recycle Bin's right-click (context) menu:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
   "Attributes"=hex:47,01,00,20

   ------End cut & paste here------

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder

In the right hand pane, double-click on "Attributes" and change its binary value from:

40 01 00 20

to read:

70 01 00 20

Do not type the spaces (they will be automatically inserted).
This Registry edit takes effect immediately.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

Click on the "Recycle Bin" string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK, and say "Good Bye" to the Recycle Bin!

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever tickles your fantasy (don't type any quotes).

"Video unable to play, YUV9 driver not installed" [?]

Can you believe that?!
I DO have ALL the components of MS Video for Windows 32-bit installed on my Win95B OSR 2.1 system {look at the [drivers32] and [drivers] sections of your SYSTEM.INI to see if you do too}, task that was completed successfully when I installed Win95 on my computer. But that stubborn AVI file refused to play, and WAS supposed to play the AVI files with the default Windows 95 multimedia video drivers installed. :(
Well it didn't, but I found a way... read "workaround".
I'm still running the old Windows for WorkGroups 3.11 + MS-DOS 6.22 in a dual-boot setup, [my luck! :)] so I copied and pasted the lines below from my WfWG 3.11 SYSTEM.INI [drivers] section under the [drivers] section of my OSR2 SYSTEM.INI file, located in the Windows 95 folder. Therefore my entire [drivers] section of my Win95 SYSTEM.INI looks like this now:

[drivers]
wavemapper=*.drv
MSACM.imaadpcm=*.acm
MSACM.msadpcm=*.acm
wave=mmsystem.dll
midi=mmsystem.dll
VIDC.mvi1=mvicodec.dll
VIDC.mvi2=mvicodec.dll
; VfW 1.1e 16-bit AVI support [next 3 lines]:
VIDC.YVU9=C:\WIN31\SYSTEM\ir21_r.dll
VIDC.RT21=C:\WIN31\SYSTEM\ir21_r.dll
VIDC.IV30=C:\WIN31\SYSTEM\ir32.dll

The line preceded by a semicolon (;) is only a comment.
The video drivers listed under the "; VfW 1.1e 16-bit AVI support..." line are imported from the Win31 SYSTEM.INI [drivers] section, and the files themselves reside in C:\WIN31\SYSTEM.
You NEED Microsoft Video for Windows (VfW) 1.1e 16-bit Runtime Drivers/Codecs installed in your Windows/WfWG 3.1x \SYSTEM subdirectory to make this fix work.
I actually needed only this line:

VIDC.RT21=C:\WIN31\SYSTEM\ir21_r.dll

to be able to play that particular AVI file, but I don't want any more possible video driver incompatibilities/error messages in the future, so I didn't take any chances, and added those other VfW 1.1e lines to my Win95 SYSTEM.INI [drivers] section.
BEWARE that when you install a new 32-bit video driver in Windows 95/98, i.e. Microsoft Media Player2 v6.4 for Win9x/NT4 [3.5 MB, free], some of these lines might be DELETED and/or REPLACED, so BACKUP your SYSTEM.INI FIRST!
If you don't have an older 16-bit version of Windows/WfWG 3.1x running on your system, you can still benefit from this fix. Just use the Windows Explorer Copy + Paste functions to copy your entire Win95 folders, subfolders and files to the same hard drive, but to a different folder, and name it something like WIN95 (if your original Win95 folder name is WINDOWS), and then modify these MSDOS.SYS lines, found under its [Paths] section, to read (default Win95 installation example is shown here):

[Paths]
; WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
; WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinDir=C:\WIN95
WinBootDir=C:\WIN95
HostWinBootDrv=C

The old (default) Win95 folder lines are REMarked here with semicolons (;).
MSDOS.SYS is a hidden, read-only, system file located in the root folder of your boot drive (C:\). You can edit it with a single double-click using the SYS95.BAT file [included with W95-11D.EXE], no need to "strip" it of its attributes to be able to modify it.
You also need to copy + paste (or add if not present) a new PATH line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (also found in C:\ root), to show your new Win95 folder location (C:\WIN95 in this example):

SET PATH=C:\WIN95;C:\WIN95\COMMAND;etc...

Also place a REM (REMark) switch in front of your original AUTOEXEC.BAT PATH line (this is the default, but it might be different on your system, if you installed Win95 in a folder other than C:\WINDOWS):

REM PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;etc...

Save your work and reboot when ready.
Then get a copy of Microsoft Video for Windows (VfW) extensions v1.1e for Windows/WfWG 3.1x [1.35 MB, free].
The next step is to load Win95 from its new location, C:\WIN95 in this case, ignoring the eventual error messages at startup due to renaming the Windows folder (everything is OK, you'll rename it back again when done anyway).
Now open Windows Explorer and highlight the folder that contains your VfW 1.1e executable, assuming you've already downloaded it to your hard disk. :)
WV1160.EXE will decompress (it's a self extracting ZIP executable) to copy the VfW installation files in the current folder. Then double-click on SETUP.EXE, which will start installing VfW on your system. You may need to use an Uninstaller/CleanSweap type of utility to monitor all the changes made to your system during VfW Setup, and find out EXACTLY the NAMES of the installed files, and WHERE they are located, C:\Win95\System in this case.
Now edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file again, and reenable your old PATH line, by removing the REM switch in front of it, and delete the new PATH line, the one pointing to C:\WIN95.
You also need to change MSDOS.SYS back to the original, the same way, using SYS95.BAT.
Then you can move ALL VfW 1.1e files to a new folder you can create, let's say C:\WINDOWS\VFW, and edit your Win95 SYSTEM.INI, to include these lines under the [drivers] section:

[drivers]
; VfW 1.1e 16-bit AVI support [next 3 lines]:
VIDC.YVU9=C:\WINDOWS\VFW\ir21_r.dll
VIDC.RT21=C:\WINDOWS\VFW\ir21_r.dll
VIDC.IV30=C:\WINDOWS\VFW\ir32.dll

Reboot again to the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode, by selecting the "Command prompt only" option from the Win95/98 Start Menu (press F8 at the beginning of the boot sequence to bring up the Start Menu).
Now exit Windows to the native MS-DOS prompt and safely remove the C:\WIN95 folder and all its contents (files and subfolders), by running:

DELTREE/Y C:\WIN95

Reboot your system once again, and load Win95 from C:\Windows. [Business as usual... :)]
Looks like a long and winding road, but you might need the VfW 1.1e 16-bit drivers one [dark cloudy :(] day to play a weird AVI file, like I did.
So now I CAN PLAY that darn AVI file (even full screen!) under Win95. YES!

FYI:

• See this IR21 Video page for another fix.
• AVI Format Technical Info.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

or if you are the only user of your Windows computer go to:

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

Right-click on an empty spot in the right hand pane. Select New -> String [REG_SZ] Value. Name it MinAnimate. Click OK. Double-click on "MinAnimate" and type 0 to turn OFF window animation or 1 to turn it ON. Click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows. Done.

TweakUI, the famous Microsoft Power Toy [110 KB, free, unsupported] can also turn off animated windows. Just remove the check mark from the "Window Animation" box under the General tab.

FYI: More info @ MSKB.

REGEDIT

and press Enter. You will be presented with this help screen:

"Imports and exports registry files to and from the registry.

REGEDIT [/L:system] [/R:user] filename1
REGEDIT [/L:system] [/R:user] /C filename2
REGEDIT [/L:system] [/R:user] /E filename3 [regpath1]
REGEDIT [/L:system] [/R:user] /D regpath2

/L:system     Specifies the location of the SYSTEM.DAT file.
/R:user       Specifies the location of the USER.DAT file.
filename1     Specifies the file(s) to import into the registry.
/C filename2  Specifies the file to create the registry from.
/E filename3  Specifies the file to export the registry to.
regpath1      Specifies the starting registry key to export from.
              (Defaults to exporting the entire registry).
/D regpath2   Specifies the registry key to delete." Win98/ME ONLY!

... Which means YOU ARE SAVED, but ONLY IF YOU HAVE BACKED UP your Registry files BEFOREHAND!

IMPORTANT: Download the FIXed REGEDIT.EXE [53 KB, free], modified to work properly with ALL Win95/98 releases (NOT WinME!), and then replace the one in your main Windows folder (default is C:\WINDOWS) with this one.

Microsoft designed the Registry Editor to work also in native MS-DOS mode to be able to back up and restore the Registry OUTSIDE Windows GUI, when everything else fails.
To make this work: load the Windows GUI -> run Regedit -> click Registry -> click "Export Registry File" -> select/create your backup folder (let's say E:\REGBAKUP) -> type in a name (let's say 9XREGBAK) for the exported file -> save it (your file will be saved by default with the .REG extension, even if you typed only the file name).
Now go ahead and mess with the Registry to your heart content. :)
If Windows doesn't restart or work properly after you have made changes to your Registry, exit Windows or reboot to native MS-DOS, and then run:

IF NOT EXIST E:\REGBAKUP\NUL MD E:\REGBAKUP
REGEDIT /E E:\REGBAKUP\9XREGBAK.REG

to backup your entire Registry to 9XREGBAK.REG.
To recreate the Registry from 9XREGBAK.REG, run (only from native MS-DOS):

REGEDIT /C E:\REGBAKUP\9XREGBAK.REG

Win95, OSR1 and OSR2 also save a backup copy of the last working Registry as SYSTEM.DA0 + USER.DA0 in the Windows folder, and you can use them as alternate [11th hour :)] backups: exit Windows GUI or reboot to native MS-DOS -> first remove your existing SYSTEM.DAT + USER.DAT files Hidden and Read-only attributes -> move/delete them -> rename the *.DA0 files to *.DAT -> reboot.
Win98 and WinME backup the Registry automatically upon the first boot of each new day: see "SCANREGW, SCANREG + SCANREG.INI", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for details.
If you haven't backed up the Registry (recently or never) prior to a disaster, you have NO SAVED REG FILE to recreate the Registry from, and/or there is NO VALID BACKUP made by Windows, there is still a LAST CHANCE: in your boot drive/partition root directory (default is C:\), you can find a Hidden, Read-only file called SYSTEM.1ST, which contains all the original Registry settings you started Windows with when you first installed it. Copy it as SYSTEM.DAT to your Windows folder, using the command lines below (example), which you can copy & paste into Notepad, and save them as a DOS batch file I called 1STREG.BAT:

@ECHO OFF
ATTRIB -H -R -S %winbootdir%\SYSTEM.DAT
IF NOT EXIST E:\REGBAKUP\NUL MD E:\REGBAKUP
MOVE/Y %winbootdir%\SYSTEM.DAT E:\REGBAKUP
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\SYSTEM.1ST
COPY/Y C:\SYSTEM.1ST %winbootdir%\SYSTEM.DAT

Change the backup drive/partition letter and/or folder name if different on your computer.
Run 1STREG.BAT ONLY from native MS-DOS mode!
After restoring your Registry this way, you'll have to reinstall all your apps/games/drivers/updates/etc and restart customizing Windows from ground up in order to bring it up to "speed", but at least NOW it's working again. :)

FYI:

• See "SHRINK THE REGISTRY!", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more info.
• Download FixReg [57 KB, freeware] to learn how to PROPERLY recreate the Registry from an exported .REG file in Windows 95/98.
• MS TechNet: Reconstructing a Corrupted Registry.