WinDOwS Tricks - Part 5

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"Use Win95 CD files without CD-ROM

On many systems, especially OEM systems, (direct from computer manufacturer, or purchased at a store like Best Buy, CompUSA or Circuit City), the computer will come with this configuration. On the hard drive, a folder named C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS usually exists on these types of computers. This folder contains all of the files from the Windows 95 CD-ROM from the "X:\Win95" folder (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). You can reboot to the Command Prompt Only (press F8 when the system displays "Starting Windows 95..." on the screen, usually it's option 6, type CD\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS and press ENTER. You can run SETUP.EXE or OEMSETUP.EXE depending on what you want to do.
SETUP.EXE will install Windows 95 with Microsoft's default settings for a standard PC.
OEMSETUP.EXE will install Windows 95 according to the settings your OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) originally used when your system was fresh from the factory. Of course, either way, you will be able to choose individual components you want to install. OEMSETUP.EXE usually includes the "Support Information" button and "Supported and Manufactured by" logo in System Properties (right-click "My Computer" and choose "Properties" to see this on your system).

Reinstalling Windows 95 will often fix a problem you might be having with the system, and this way, it would preserve most of your existing Registry settings, thus, making it so you didn't have to reinstall most of your programs and re-optomize any settings you have changed.

You can delete the existing Registry files prior to running SETUP.EXE or OEMSETUP.EXE, (do this by going to the command prompt, typing "CD\WINDOWS" then typing "ATTRIB USER.DA* -H -S -R" and "ATTRIB SYSTEM.DA* -H -S -R" and then "DEL SYSTEM.DA*" and "DEL USER.DA*" - caution - THIS WILL DELETE YOUR EXISTING REGISTRY! Make sure you backup first. This will install a "fresh" copy of Win95 onto the hard disk and create a completely new Registry, for those times that Win95 just won't stop having problems even after reinstalling it using the first method.

If you have OSR2 you will need to delete or rename C:\WINDOWS\WIN.* (all files named "WIN" ending with ANY extension, such as WIN.INI, WIN.COM etc). Otherwise you won't be able to install Win95 OSR2 again because it doesn't like installing over a previous version of Windows.

If you are unfortunate enough NOT to have a system that has the Win95 setup cab files in C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS, then don't worry, as long as you have a CD-ROM drive and a Win95 CD-ROM.

Just follow the same steps, except after going to the command prompt, switch to your CD-ROM drive and type in "CD\WIN95" and run SETUP.EXE or OEMSETUP.EXE after following the other instructions."

"I used your tips to install DOS 6.22. Here is how I did it:

1. Make a Windows 95/98 boot disk.
2. Either format C:, or if you have a DOS 6.22 boot disk, do the following:
   1. Rename the Windows 95/98 COMMAND.COM, MSDOS.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS to *.W9X (or whatever).
   2. Boot with the DOS 6.22 boot disk.
   3. Go to the boot disk drive (usually A:) and run:
      SYS C:
3. Install DOS 6.22.
4. Rename the DOS 6.22 files (see above) to *.DOS.
5. Boot with the Windows 95/98 boot disk.
6. Go to the boot disk drive (usually A:) and run:
   SYS C:
   If followed 2 a-c:
7. Rename the Windows 95/98 files (*.W9X) to their original extensions.
8. Done!

Now you can do as you suggest in one of your tips and make the boot menu come up, so that you can choose your OS."

File name       Icon name                Applet title                           Installed by
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3dcc.cpl        Color Settings           JasMIN 3D Color Changer 98/3000        Jasmin's 3D Color Changer 98/3000
Access.cpl      Accessibility            Windows Accessibility Control Panels   Win9x/ME
Apppaths.cpl    Application Paths        Windows Application Paths              Application Paths Changer
Appwiz.cpl      Add/Remove Programs      Add/Remove Programs Properties         Win9x/ME
Audiohq.cpl     AudioHQ                  AudioHQ                                Creative Labs SB Live!/Audigy
Ctdetect.cpl    Disk Detector            Creative Disk Detector                 Creative Labs SB Live!/Audigy
Desk.cpl        Display                  Display Properties                     Win9x/ME
Diagnose.cpl    BCM Diagnostics          BCM Diagnostics                        BCM Diagnostics
Directx.cpl     DirectX                  DirectX Properties                     MS DirectX SDK 5/6/7/8/9
Findfast.cpl    FindFast                 FindFast Settings                      MS Office 97/2000
Iascfg.cpl      Quake 2 IAS              Interactive Around Sound Engine        Quake 2 IAS for SB Live!
Inetcpl.cpl     Internet Options         Internet Properties                    Win9x/ME + MS IE 3/4/5/6
Infrared.cpl    Infrared                 Infrared Properties                    Win9x/ME
Intl.cpl        Regional Settings        Regional Settings Properties           Win9x/ME
Jetadmin.cpl    Hewlett-Packard JetAdmin Control Panel Applet                   Win9x/ME
Joy.cpl         Joystick Properties/Game Controllers in DirectX 5/6/7/8         Win9x/ME + MS DirectX 5/6/7/8
Lfctpl.cpl      Logitech WingMan         Logitech Game Controller Properties    Logitech WingMan Joysticks
Main.cpl        Mouse                    Mouse Properties                       Win9x/ME
Mlcfg32.cpl     Exchange/MS Mail         Microsoft Mail Configuration Library   Win9x
Mmsys.cpl       Multimedia               Multimedia Properties                  Win9x/ME
Modem.cpl       Modems                   Modems Properties                      Win9x/ME
Morecon.cpl     More Control             More Control                           More Control
Mp3cnfg.cpl     MPEG Layer III Config    MPEG Layer-3 Codec Configuration       Kristal Software Divx MPEG
Mswebcpl.cpl    MS Web Server            Microsoft Web Server Control Panel     Win9x + MS Web Server
Netcpl.cpl      Network                  Network                                Win9x/ME
Odbccp32.cpl    32-bit ODBC              ODBC Data Source Administrator         MS Visual Basic + MS C++
Password.cpl    Passwords                Passwords Properties                   Win9x/ME
Qtw16.cpl       Quick Time               Quick Time Control Panel               Apple Quick Time 16-bit 2
Qtw32.cpl       Quick Time               Quick Time Control Panel               Apple Quick Time 32-bit 2
Quick Time.cpl  Quick Time               Quick Time Settings                    Apple Quick Time 32-bit 3/4/5/6
Powercfg.cpl    Power Management         Power Management Properties            Win98/ME
Prefscpl.cpl    RealPlayer G2            Preferences                            RealPlayer 5/6/7/8/9
Sancpl.cpl      SiSoft Sandra            SiSoft Sandra Control Panel Extension  SiSoft Sandra
Startup.cpl     Startup                  Startup Control Panel 1.0/2.0          Mike Lin's Startup applet 1/2
Sticpl.cpl      Scanners and Cameras     Scanners and Cameras Properties        Win98/ME
Sysdm.cpl       System                   System Properties                      Win9x/ME
Themes.cpl      Desktop Themes           Desktop Themes                         MS Plus! + OSR2 + Win98/98 SE
Timedate.cpl    Date/Time                Date/Time Properties                   Win9x/ME
Telephon.cpl    Telephony                Telephony Properties                   Win9x/ME
Tweakall.cpl    TweakAll                 TweakAll                               Abton Shed's TweakAll 1/2
Tweakui.cpl     Tweak UI                 Tweak UI                               TweakUI MS Power Toy
Wnetprop.cpl    WorldNet AutoDial        AT&T Worldnet Service Properties       AT&T Worldnet ISP
Wgpocpl.cpl     MS WorkGroup PostOffice  Microsoft WorkGroup PostOffice Admin   Win9x/ME
Wuaucpl.cpl     Windows Update           Windows Update                         WinME
Xqxsetup.cpl    X-Setup                  Xteq X-Setup 4.x/5.x/6.x               Xteq's X-Setup 4/5/6

These MSKB pages also have a comprehensive Win9x/ME .CPL files list: Q192806 and Q149648.
Also, you can move some/all .CPL files to a different folder, and then create separate shortcuts for them. Such a shortcut command line must include Control.exe in front of the .CPL file, ONLY IF the .CPL files are not associated with the Control Panel executable on your system. Example:

C:\Windows\Control.exe C:\YourFolder\Modem.cpl

NOTE: To learn how to associate .CPL files with the Control Panel (Control.exe), read "CONTROL PANEL", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

UPDATE: ".CPL files are automatically by default associated with:
%WINDIR%\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %1,%*
One may need to rename the:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\cplfile\shell\cplopen
Registry key to 'open'."
[Thank you Yuri!]

NOTE: This procedure requires a working copy of Windows 9x!

With the GUI started, open Regedit and go to:

• Windows 9x:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProductID

• MS Internet Explorer 4/5:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ProductID

• MS Plus! for Windows 95:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Plus!\Plus!\Registration\ProductID

• MS Plus! for Kids:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Kids\Kids Plus!\Registration\ProductID

• MS Plus! for Windows 98:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Plus!98\ProductID

• Windows NT:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProductId

You may have more than one "ProductID" String, depending on the MS programs installed on your machine.
To make it easier to find them all, start a Registry search: click Edit, select Find, type "ProductID" (no quotes) in the search box, and hit Enter (or click Find Next).
In the right hand pane double-click on each ProductID subkey, and copy the entire string of numbers to a text file (by holding Ctrl and pressing C, or by right-clicking on the highlighted number, and then clicking Copy), specifying which program/app it belongs to. Now print a hard copy, and keep it handy for a dark cloudy day when your OS/program may become unusable!
Example: such a cd-rom (copy protection) key might look similar to this one:
11111-333-3333333-11111
When installing a Microsoft product, you will be asked to enter the 2 groups of numbers in the middle (in this case: 333-3333333).

1. The permanent way: Right-click on an empty spot on the Taskbar. Click on Properties. Select the Start Menu Programs and click the Add button. Enter "C:\Windows\Desktop" (no quotes) on the command line. Click Next. Place this shortcut in your Start Menu folder. Click Next and finally click Finish.
   From now on you have access to all your Desktop shortcuts from anywhere, any time: just click the Start button, and your Desktop folder will show up on the list.
   NOTE: Change the Win95/98 folder name in this example if different on your machine.

2. The temporary way: Click the Start button, select Run, type a dot (.) and press Enter.

1. HOSTS file
2. DNS Server
3. NetBIOS Cache
4. WINS server
5. Broadcast
6. LMHOSTS file

Example: when your browser tries to contact www.att.com, the HOSTS file changes the URL accessed by using the server name hostname.com UNC (Universal Naming Convention), www.att.com in this example, into an IP numeric address (135.145.9.134) and decreases the time taken to get there.
Generic HOSTS line:

111.222.333.444 hostname.com # Web Site Name

Everything after the pound sign (#) is a comment.
Edit it with Notepad, to read the usage guidelines and then add your most frequently visited web sites IP addresses/host names.
To get the IP address of your favorite server, let's say www.att.com, run PING, a Networking tool, also found in your Win9x/ME folder, from a DOS prompt box/session, while connected to the Internet:

PING www.att.com

These are the IP numbers you need:

Pinging www.att.com [135.145.9.134] etc...

Copy them on a separate line into your HOSTS file:

135.145.9.134 www.att.com # AT&T Worldnet

Repeat this operation for each web site you like to add.
Restart Windows so the changes can take effect.

IMPORTANT:

1. Do NOT rename this file: it MUST be HOSTS with no extension!
2. Do NOT map an IP to a name already in use, i.e. your ISP's (Internet Service Provider) name!

Some internet/network servers use dynamic IP addresses, meaning the numbers change every time you try to access them. Therefore you may need to PING the same server more than once at different times, and then add ALL IP numbers found for that server, followed by its host/web site name (see example above) on separate lines into your HOSTS file.

FYI: See HOSTS Files, Guides + Tools [freeware] for more details.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\FileSystem

Right-click in the right hand pane -> select New -> DWORD -> name it "ContigFileAllocSize" (no quotes). Now double-click on it -> check the Decimal box -> give it an integer value between 1024 (1 MB) and 4096 (4 MB). Default is 512 (512 KiloBytes = 1/2 MB).
If you have any newer/"monster" multi-GigaByte size hard disk(s), you may want to set this value to "high": 2048 - 4096.
If you don't work/"play" frequently with multi-MegaByte size files, you may want to set it to "low": 512 - 2048.
Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows when done.

More info @ Microsoft.

CONCLUSION:

Smaller cluster size means faster disk access but greater degree of disk fragmentation.
Larger cluster size means slower disk access but smaller degree of disk fragmentation.

1. Start the Registry editor and go to:

   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile\shell\open

2. Rename the "open" key to "run", as shown below:

   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile\shell\run

   by right-clicking on "open", selecting Rename, typing in "run", and then clicking OK. Don't type the quotes!

3. Modify the "EditFlags" binary value in:

   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile

   to read "00 00 00 00": right-click on "EditFlags" (right-hand pane), select Modify, and type in "00 00 00 00" (no quotes). Click OK.

   WARNING: DO NOT MODIFY THE LENGTH OF THE HEX VALUE ABOVE!

4. Open Explorer, click Options from the View menu (or Folder Options if you installed Internet Explorer 4.0x, or if you are using Win98), select the File Types tab, scroll down to the "MS-DOS Batch File" item, highlight it and click Edit.

You'll notice that the last three buttons (Edit, Remove and Set Default) are now enabled and that you can select Edit as the default action.

• D:\WIN95 = Windows 95/95B/95C.
• D:\WIN98 = Windows 98/98 SE.
• D:\WIN9X = Windows ME.

To redirect Setup to use a new (custom) location for the .CAB files, fire up Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Double-click on the "SourcePath" String Value -> delete existing text -> type in your new path: C:\WIN98 (example using Windows 98 or 98 SE) -> click OK -> exit the Registry Editor -> restart Windows.
To redirect the Hardware Wizard to use a new (custom) folder for .INF (and not only) files whenever you make changes to or upgrade your hardware devices (video, sound, modem, network card etc), repeat steps above to modify the "a" String Value found under this Registry key:

• for currently logged on user:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\InstallLocationsMRU

• for all users sharing the same machine:

  HKEY_USERS\.Default\InstallLocationsMRU

No need to restart Windows after this last change.

FYI:
• For more details read the "ACCDATE" topic in CONFIG.TXT, a text file located in your Windows 9x/ME folder, or see this MSKB article.
• MSKB: ACCDATE may NOT work in Windows 95.
• MSKB: ACCDATE may NOT work in Windows ME.
• This web page has more details on ACCDATE.
• There might be certain programs that require ACCDATE enabled in order to run properly, though I haven't found any yet.

"ACCDATE enables/disables the recording of the last access date of a file.
The ACCDATE command can only be invoked from CONFIG.SYS.
Syntax:

ACCDATE=drive1+|- [drive2+|-] ...

+ = Enables last access date recording.
- = Disables last access date recording.

By default, last access dates are recorded for files on hard drive(s) but not on floppies.
When Windows 9x/ME starts in Safe Mode, last access date recording is turned OFF automatically for all hard drives/partitions.
ACCDATE canNOT be used to modify the status of last access date recording while Windows GUI is running. :(
I am not sure when ACCDATE would be used by normal mortals. Some utility programs (eg. Cleansweep) record when files were last accessed to provide a basis for suggestions of files that should be considered for deletion or archiving. Whether such programs use ACCDATE in some way, I do not know."

UPDATE: "The file access date can be found using the DIR/V command from the native DOS prompt.
Unfortunately Windows Explorer Properties resets the ACCDATE to today's date, making it useless in Windows. :(
I recently discovered thousands of my old files were attacked by a hacker.
By using DIR/V and checking the ACCDATE, I can tell which files were hacked.
The files still have the same name, length and date, but the content has been changed to an MP3 file. Many files in other directories had suffered the same fate, and all my backups were corrupt."
[Thank you Epatters!]

1. Temporary: Click the Start button -> click "Shut Down" -> select "Restart" -> click OK or hit Enter.

2. Unsafe: Click the Start button -> click "Shut Down" -> select "Shut down" AND hold down the Shift key at the same time -> click OK or hit Enter.

3. Permanent: Create a DOS batch (.BAT) file with this single line:

   @EXIT

   and save it as RESTART.BAT.
   Next, create an MS-DOS shortcut (.PIF = Program Information File) for RESTART.BAT:

   1. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop -> select New -> click Shortcut.
   2. In the "Command line" box -> browse to the folder where RESTART.BAT resides -> name this shortcut Restart! -> click OK -> click Finish.
   3. Right-click on Restart! -> select Properties -> click the Program tab -> click the "Change Icon" button -> browse to your favorite DLL, EXE, ICL or ICO file -> select the icon you want (if more than one) -> click OK/Apply.
      Your newly created MS-DOS shortcut (Restart!.PIF = the .PIF file extension is NOT visible by default!) should appear now on your Desktop, if you haven't changed its default location.
   4. Right-click on Restart! -> select Properties -> click the Program tab -> check the "Close on exit" box -> click the "Advanced" button -> check the "MS-DOS mode" box -> uncheck the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" box -> check the "Use current MS-DOS configuration" box -> click OK/Apply twice to save your changes.

Now you're all set. You can (double)-click on your Restart! shortcut whenever a program installation that HASN'T MADE ANY CHANGES to your system (startup) files prompts you to reboot.
To make sure there are no changes made to your system (startup) files, you can compare your old files (from before installing a new program) with the new ones (after the setup process is over). Two ASCII (plain text) files, like AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, saved Registry (.REG file) etc... can be compared by opening them side by side in Notepad.

HINT: Notepad will NOT open files larger than 64 KB, so you need a better text editor/viewer.

This implies that you have made BACKUPS (to compare to) BEFORE ANY CHANGES have been made to your system!
If there are NO changes after program installation is completed, there is NO need for a reboot. :)
In this case, just (double)-click on your Desktop Restart! shortcut, and when the Windows GUI shows up again, you can safely run your newly installed program.
Voila.

C:\;D:\;E:\;F:\... etc.

• Windows 95 (retail) + 95a OSR1 (upgraded with SP1) = WIN95.COM [22,679 Bytes],
• Windows 95B OSR 2.0, 95B OSR 2.1 + 95C OSR 2.5 = WINOSR2.COM [24,503 Bytes] and
• Windows 98 (retail), 98 SP1 (upgraded with SP1) + 98 SE(U) [Second Edition (Updates)] = WIN98.COM [24,791 Bytes]

More info @ MSKB.

USAGE GUIDE:

• Use one of the freeware "unZIPpers" from this "WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP/2003/Vista FILE SHRINKERS" list to decompress WINBLANK.ZIP into an empty folder.
• Rename your original WIN.COM (found in your main Windows folder) to something like WINORI.COM (example).
• Rename the one (WIN95.COM, WINOSR2.COM or WIN98.COM) that matches your Windows version to WIN.COM. To tell EXACTLY your Windows version/build, follow these guidelines.
• Place this new WIN.COM file into your main Windows folder.
  The purpose of these files is to get rid of this annoying/nagging DOS message, displayed when you shut down Windows 95/98, and find yourself "starring" at the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS C:\> prompt:

  "You can now safely turn off your computer.
  If you want to restart your computer, press CTRL+ALT+DEL."

  To see this DOS prompt message generated by the original WIN.COM, you need to delete/move (but BACKUP FIRST) the waiting-to-shut-down (LOGOW.SYS) and the shut-down (LOGOS.SYS) logos from your Windows folder, which are displayed on top of the DOS prompt during and after the shut-down sequence, if they are present.
  To exit/close/shut down Windows 95/98:

  • Using your mouse: left-click the Start button -> select Shut down... -> check or select Shut down -> click OK.
  • Using your keyboard: press the Alt and F4 keys simultaneously -> hit Enter.
  • Using a dedicated shortcut: see "FAST EXIT | RESTART!", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
  But if you use the modified executable that matches your Windows version, the annoying DOS prompt message will be completely GONE!

NOTES:

• To properly exit/shut down Win95/98 to the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode, APPLY the STEPS detailed in "DOS NOW!", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].
• If you have an ATX motherboard you MUST load the NOOFF.COM TSR in memory (i.e. from AUTOEXEC.BAT) BEFORE starting Windows, otherwise your PC will power off before you get a chance to see the MS-DOS prompt. See "WIN98 ATX SHUT DOWN FIX", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for complete details on how to do this.

How I did it: plain and simple, I opened each WIN.COM file with the old 16-bit version of Write.exe (the primitive word processor included with Windows/WfWG 3.1x), and replaced the two text lines (see above) that make up the annoying message with spaces (blanks). :)
IMPORTANT: If you try to do this, keep in mind that the EXACT size of the original WIN.COM has to be preserved, otherwise Windows will lock up upon loading!

There is actually another [some may say "easier" :)] way to do all this, by starting Windows 95/98 from a plain DOS BATch file, or by adding these lines at the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

@ECHO OFF
WIN.COM %1 %2 %3
MODE.COM CO80

... but that's no fun! :-)

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

In the right hand pane modify the "NoStartBanner" Binary [hex] Value: double-click on it -> type 01000000 -> click OK. Don't type any quotes or spaces.
Or add it if not present: right-click on an empty spot in the right hand pane -> select New -> click Binary Value -> name it NoStartBanner -> click OK.
Close Regedit and restart Windows when done.

"Super Defrag

1. Right-click on "My Computer".
2. Click Properties.
3. Click the Performance tab.
4. Select the Virtual Memory button.
5. Check "Disable virtual memory".
6. Click OK. Windows won't like this, but go ahead anyway...
7. Reboot.
8. Run Defrag.
9. Go back to "My Computer" virtual memory and uncheck "Disable virtual memory".
10. Put back your own virtual memory settings (perhaps you have done this already in your SYSTEM.INI).
11. Reboot.

With a little luck, you'll have your swap file in one place on the hard drive, and perhaps a little more space."

ADD-ON: To deactivate the Win9x/ME swap file (virtual memory), you can also modify your SYSTEM.INI, found in your Windows folder. This way Windows won't prompt you to reboot your computer, all you need to do is restart the GUI: Start -> Shut down -> Restart -> OK/Yes.
But you have to REBOOT if you do this the "normal" way: open Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> Virtual Memory... etc.
Open SYSTEM.INI in Notepad, and look under the [386enh] section for these (similar) lines (the "drive", "folder", "filename.ext" and "xxxxxx" strings below must display actual values in your file):

PagingDrive=drive:
PagingFile=drive:\folder\filename.ext
MinPagingFileSize=xxxxxx
MaxPagingFileSize=xxxxxx

NOTE: You might NOT have ALL lines above present, depending on your System's Virtual Memory (swap file) settings!

Remark them ALL by placing a semicolon (;) in front of each line.
Then create this new line under the same [386enh] section:

Paging=off

Now just restart Windows (as described above), NO need to reboot.
Defragment ALL your hard drive(s) as explained in Bengt's tip above.
When you're done, open SYSTEM.INI again in Notepad, and reenable all your old lines by erasing the semicolons (;) in front of them, and remark or delete the new created line (Paging=off).
Restart Windows one more time. Done.

TIP for Win98/ME users: see "CLEAN DEFRAG", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

"When you open an MS-DOS Prompt window, you get to Properties without using the mouse, by using a menu that appears when you select the icon in the upper left corner of the window. Press Alt-Spacebar to show this menu and then type P for Properties."

UPDATE: "This is not specific to the DOS Prompt but applies to any window, except that most windows don't have a Properties item."
This update courtesy of Yuri.

• SCSI hard disks,
• older ESDI/IDE drives,
• newer EIDE/IDE/ATA hard drives (especially larger than 8 GB) partitioned with the new Win98/OSR2 FAT32 file system,

Windows 95/98 tries to load DBLBUFF.SYS, the double buffering device driver (located in C:\Windows by default) to allow proper operation under the SCSI/ESDI/FAT32 standards.
Double Buffering/Smartdrv advantages:

1. If you don't use any DOS programs, you can speed up the loading of the DOS portion of your Win95/98 GUI.

2. If you DO use ANY MS-DOS based programs/games, you can speed up a bit (in some cases) ALL disk I/O (Input/Output) reads and writes in native MS-DOS mode.

There are actually two ways of doing this:

1. The old way is to add a SMARTDRV line to your CONFIG.SYS file, after the command that loads HIMEM.SYS:

   DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER

   Note that this portion of the Smartdrv module canNOT load in upper memory!
   This is reminiscent from the MS-DOS 6.xx days, when Smartdrv itself was used to provide double buffering.

2. The new way (implemented by Win95/98) is to add this line to your CONFIG.SYS, after the HIMEM.SYS command:

   DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DBLBUFF.SYS

   DBLBUFF.SYS can ONLY load in conventional memory. You will get an error message at bootup, and the Dblbuff.sys loading process aborts if you try to load it in upper memory with DEVICEHIGH!
   No matter which method you choose, both these CONFIG.SYS lines MUST be present BEFORE ANY other DEVICE(HIGH) or INSTALL(HIGH) commands!

   NOTE: For complete DBLBUFF.SYS guidelines + parameters, see MSDOSDRV.TXT located in your Windows 9x folder.
   

You can choose which way to enable double buffering, since both methods described above work under Win95/98.
The double buffer module takes under 3 KB of low (conventional) memory.
Valid for both methods above:

1. You need an adequate BUFFERS line in your CONFIG.SYS, for this to work. Example:

   BUFFERS=12,6

   The second number on this BUFFERS line provides double buffering capabilities.
   The BUFFERS load automatically in the High Memory Area (HMA), if HMA is properly enabled by these CONFIG.SYS lines:

   DOS=HIGH,UMB
   DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

   NOTE: To learn more about DOS memory layout and how to "squeeze" the last Byte out of your conventional/upper memory in DOS and Windows, read MEMORY.TXT, REGIONS.TXT + EMM386.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

2. You also need a SMARTDRV line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, to activate the double buffering feature. Example:

   SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N

   NOTE: For complete Smartdrv details + guidelines, see "OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE", also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

Now that you're done, reboot your system, and then run this command:

SMARTDRV /S

from any DOS prompt, to see which drive(s) on your system have double buffering enabled (only if needed).

TIP: To have SMARTDRV load in upper memory (and save some precious conventional memory), you need a memory manager loaded in your CONFIG.SYS (like EMM386.EXE, provided by Microsoft with Win95/98).
Example of EMM386.EXE CONFIG.SYS line (with expanded memory enabled by the "RAM" switch):

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF D=256 RAM AUTO

To learn how to use ALL EMM386.EXE parameters, see MSDOSDRV.TXT, a plain text file found in your Windows 9x folder. Then read MEMORY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], to learn how to maximize + optimize your DOS/Windows memory resources using EMM386.EXE.

TIP: If you use Win98, read "WIN98 PHANTOM DRIVE BUG", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

• *.---, *.B~K, *.BAK, *.DAT, *.LOG, *.OLD, *.PRV, *.TXT = in the root folder of your boot drive (usually C:\), when you first installed Windows and when you made system changes (installed apps);

• *.FTG, *.FTS, *.GID = in your Win9x/ME Help folder (usually C:\Windows\Help) and in your Windows/WfWG 3.1x directory [ONLY IF you installed MS Win32s 32-bit Extensions Add-on for Windows/WfWG 3.1x (2.41 MB, free)], whenever you clicked a "Help" button and/or used the Help Search option;

• *.FND = in your Win9x/ME Desktop folder (usually C:\Windows\Desktop), whenever you saved a Search (by using the "Find" tool);

• *.SYD = in your boot drive/partition root directory (C:\) and/or your Windows directory, as backups created by SysEdit.exe, a system file (AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI) editing tool, located in C:\Windows\System;

• *.CHK = in the root directory of the drive checked for cluster/file/directory errors by using the native MS-DOS mode Microsoft CHKDSK.EXE tool bundled with MS-DOS 7.xx (a.k.a. Windows 9x) and MS-DOS 6.xx, can be safely erased;

• WIN386.SWP = Windows temporary swap file, located by default in your Windows directory, can be safely erased ONLY from native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode!

• MSCREATE.DIR = 0 Byte hidden files created by Microsoft programs at Setup time in the respective program's folder(s), can be safely erased.
  More info @ MSKB.

Some of these files have the read-only, hidden and/or system attributes.
Therefore you need to "strip" them of their attributes to be able to delete them.
Example: create a batch file to include the DOS command lines below, to delete these temp files from C:\ root:

@ECHO OFF
C:
CD\
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A \*.OLD
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A \*.PRV
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A \*.TXT
DEL \*.OLD
DEL \*.PRV
DEL \*.TXT

WARNING: Do NOT delete ANY *.DA0, *.DAT, *.INI, *.LOG or *.TXT files from your main Windows directory!

A radical approach to getting rid of ALL files that pile up in your temporary folder (usually C:\Windows\TEMP), is to include these DOS commands in a batch file:

• Win9x/ME users: [BOTH native/real/true/pure MS-DOS + Windows DOS box!]

  @ECHO OFF
  ECHO Y | DELTREE.EXE %winbootdir%\TEMP
  MD %winbootdir%\TEMP

• Win/WfWG 3.1x users: [ONLY from native/real/true/pure MS-DOS!]

  @ECHO OFF
  ECHO Y | DELTREE.EXE C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
  MD C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

  Substitute the Windows directory name with yours if different.

• Win/WfWG 3.1x users: [ONLY from Windows DOS box!]

  @ECHO OFF
  ECHO Y | DELTREE.EXE %windir%\TEMP
  MD %windir%\TEMP

  Note that DELTREE.EXE is included ONLY with MS-DOS 6.00 and newer!

It is recommended to delete your Windows temporary files ONLY from native MS-DOS, or if you'd like to do this from inside the Windows GUI (a DOS box), make sure you close ALL open programs FIRST!
Open W9X.BAT [part of W95-11D.EXE] or W31.BAT [part of W31-11D.ZIP] in Notepad, to see how I keep my hard drives "filthy clean", every time I shut-down/exit Windows to MS-DOS.

UPDATES:

• "*.000 and *.001 are frequently used by D*Space [DrvSpace/DblSpace]. Careful when deleting them, if using one of these disk compression tools!"
  [Thank you Yuri!]

• "*.LOG files are used by some Uninstall programs to keep a log of what is installed during the process, essential for a successful uninstall."
  [Thank you Raymond!]

• What Can You Safely Delete?

• Deleting Unnecessary Files.