These topics refer STRICTLY to ALL MS Windows 98 and 98 SE(U) final (Gold) releases, unless specified otherwise!

TIPS98 Contents: 

UNLOAD WIN98 SE DLLS

If you installed Windows 98 SE "fresh" on a clean hard drive, NOT as an

upgrade over an older Win9x version, unlike Windows 98 retail or 95/OSR1/OSR2,

it always unloads the DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) used by a program from

memory, upon closing that application/game (default). To see if your system

does this too, start RegEdit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer

In the right hand pane look for the "AlwaysUnloadDLL" String value. Notice the

default value of 1.

The caveat is that certain (especially older) Windows programs might

"complain" by issuing error messages (i.e. an Invalid Page Fault = IPF), or

even crashing the entire system when this option is turned on.

But you can turn it off: double-click on "AlwaysUnloadDLL" and change its

value from 1 to 0, or delete it altogether.

If you haven't experienced such "faults"/lockups, you can leave it on, because

this speeds up GUI operation a little.

Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows.

NOTE: See this related MSKB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q196/4/80.asp

for possible IPFs caused by specific programs.

98 SE + NEW IE5

Some of you might have noticed that the version of Microsoft Internet Explorer

5.0 installed by Win98 SE(U) is newer than the one available from the

Microsoft web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/iebuild/ie5_win32/en/ie5_win32.htm

When you right-click on Iexplore.exe and select the Properties tab, the

downloadable version displays either 5.00.2314.1003 [current (silent) update],

5.00.2310.1000 [first (final) release] or one of these 3rd party customized

versions (there are more out there): 5.00.2314.1300, 5.00.2615.200. The former

(installed by Win98 SE) identifies itself as 5.00.2614.3500.

These are ALL final releases. If your IE5 version is older, or if you have a

beta release, it is strongly recommended to upgrade to the newest FINAL

version, which incorporates the latest security patches and interface fixes.

Exception: Windows 2000 beta 3 RC1 installs a newer (beta) revision of IE5:

5.00.2919.800, as does Windows Millennium beta 1. But these will change as

newer betas will be released. Rumor has it the final (Gold) releases of

Windows 2000 and Millennium will ship with IE6.

Also note that Win98 SE(U) won't allow you to install an older IE5 build over

the one it comes bundled with! But why would you do that anyway? :)

IE5 installed by Win98 SE(U) adds a new Sharing button (for use with ICS =

Internet Connection Sharing) under the Communications tab, when you click the

Tools -> Internet Options from the IE5 menu, or when you right-click on the

IE5 Desktop icon and select Properties.

If you do NOT see the new Sharing button, apply the fix detailed in this MSKB

article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q236/1/52.asp

This MSKB article has more details about IE5 changes in Win98 SE(U):

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q237/6/80.asp

98 SE ICS BUG FIX

Many thanks Gary Frazier (gfraz@hotmail.com) for this BUG fix!

"I am using the Internet Connection Service (ICS) from Win98 SE, and find it

quite useful, but I did notice a problem with my connection on my other PC. I

have a cable modem, and I am sharing it with only 1 other PC.

Microsoft released a fix detailed in the "Slow Transfer Rates with ICS and

High-Bandwidth Devices" MSKB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q230/1/16.asp

-----Quote-----

SYMPTOMS

If an Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host is using a high-bandwidth

connection to the Internet, the transfer rate may be slower than the medium's

normal rate.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, remove the following registry key on the host and then

restart your computer:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ICSharing\Settings\General\InternetMTU

NOTE: This key should not be removed if you are using a dial-up connection

with a modem over an analog phone line.

---End quote---

I looked at it, and it was set to 512, it does not default to the LAN setting

(1500) like everything else. I guess they had the idea mostly dial-up accounts

would be using it? I manually changed it to 1500."

98 SE IE5 COOKIES

Thank you Michael Kane (mikeyk@megsinet.net) for sending this tip.

"I have Win98 SE that came with IE 5.0. I like having the option of accepting

cookies or not, and with IE 4.0 this was done under the Advanced tab of

Internet Explorer Options. However when I installed Win98 2nd Edition, this

option was gone. But I discovered it now under the Security tab of Internet

Explorer Options: select the custom level button for each zone and configure

the cookies option the way you wish."

CLEAN WIN98 SEU INSTALL

Thank you Michael Velasco for your cool 98 SEU tip:

"As you know the Win98 Second Edition (Update version) has the DOS Setup

disabled by default, meaning you can't do a clean install from a newly

formatted hard disk. Actually the Setup program first checks for any

qualifying Win98 original build [4.10.1998] file. What I did:

1. Boot to native MS-DOS using a floppy boot disk with cd-rom support created

by Win98 original build [4.10.1998].

2. Run A:\FDISK to create a new D (hard disk) partition.

3. Copy the Win98 SEU install files from the \WIN98 folder on the Setup cd-rom

to the D partition.

4. Install Win98 original build [4.10.1998] from the cd-rom.

5. Run Win98 SEU Setup, and create a boot disk when prompted.

6. Reboot to native MS-DOS using the Win98 SEU floppy boot disk.

7. Run A:\FORMAT with the /S option to reformat clean the C partition, and

then to copy the system files to C:\ root after formatting is completed.

8. Remove the boot disk and reboot to native MS-DOS.

9. Run the DOS based Setup from the D partition.

This worked, and I was able to save about 50 MB of disk space since the system

files are backed up by default if I install over the original build. Also, my

Windows Update does a more accurate job of analyzing which patch needs to be

installed.

Before I used to run into a lot of redundant patches since the Windows Update

Manager in the original Win98 build doesn't seem to work properly if Win98 SE

is installed on top of it.

Note that I've used Win98 SEU build 4.10.2222 A for this procedure. I don't

know if this works with other custom/OEM builds."

WIN98 LOW DISK SPACE WARNING

You can improve Windows 98 performance by disabling the annoying Low Disk

Space monitoring and warning message that pops up whenever disk space on your

fixed drive(s) falls below the minimum specified by the system. This is

enabled by default, and these are possible warning messages you may get:

"Hard disk is low on disk space."

and/or:

"You are running out of disk space on drive X.

To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, run Disk

Cleanup."

The percentage of low disk space monitoring is set depending on the size of

your drive(s). By default a 1 GB drive runs low at 5%, and a 2 GB drive at

2.5%.

BEWARE: If you disable this setting, whenever you run out of space without

knowing it, you may experience system/application errors, especially if using

a resizable swap file (default name is Win386.swp) located on your

primary/master (fixed) drive!

If you'd like to do this, run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\FileSystem

Create a new Binary value: right-click on an empty spot in the Regedit

screen -> select New -> click Binary Value -> name it

DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast. Or double-click on it if it already exists ->

type FFFFFFFF (case insensitive) -> click OK or press Enter.

To reenable Low Disk Space notification on ALL your fixed drives, delete the

"DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast" value.

To enable/disable the Low Disk Space warning on selected drives, follow the

guidelines at this "Hard Disk Is Low on Disk Space Message" page:

http://windows-help.net/windows98/troub-42.shtml

Note that DWORD is incorrect posted there, and needs to be replaced with

Binary to make this setting work properly!

Windows needs to be restarted after applying these changes.

NOTE: For more info on this issue read these MSKB articles:

- "Hard Disk Is Low on Disk Space Message":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q191/8/24.asp

- "Error Messages Encountered with Low Disk Space":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q193/9/03.asp

MAPPED DISK CACHE

This is a fragment quoted from the "Windows 98 Mtsutil.txt File" MSKB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/4/80.asp

"Windows 98 supports the mapping of cached pages to increase the amount of

memory available to running applications. The Windows 98 memory manager

architecture divides memory into 2 parts:

- Protected-mode disk cache (VCACHE)

- Memory allocated to run programs and hold data (VMM)

Reading from memory is much faster than reading from the hard disk. VCACHE

improves performance by reducing the number of times the hard disk is

accessed. A process in memory will demand a particular section of code; if

that section of code is in VCACHE, it can be accessed and used much more

quickly than if that section of code needs to be read from a file on disk.

For example, if you were to launch an application, close it, and then shortly

thereafter launch it a second time, the application's launch time would now be

noticeably reduced. This is a result of copying much of the application from

VCACHE instead of the hard disk.

Memory allocated to the disk cache is not available to executing processes.

Reducing the amount of memory available to running applications negatively

impacts performance by increasing the amount of data swapped from memory to

the hard disk."

What does all this "mumbo-jumbo" mean? Basically Win98 will act faster if a

portion of the computer's memory is allocated for the fixed disk "mapped

cache", thus avoiding frequent access to the slower swap file (supplemental

"virtual" memory located on the fixed disk). The disadvantage is (only

obvious on PCs with less than 64 MB of RAM) that this "retained" memory is

not available to applications anymore, thus reducing the amount of memory

Windows 98 can "play" with.

Therefore it is recommended to enable the Win98 "mapped cache" feature on

machines with at least 64 MB RAM (and definitively if you have 128 MB or

more), to improve performance at the expense of little less memory available

to programs.

To do so, start Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VMM

In the right hand pane, make sure the "MapCache" Binary value is not present.

If you see it, delete it: right-click on it and select Delete or highlight it

and press Del, then click Yes or press Enter.

Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows.

To disable the "mapped cache" on Win98 systems with less than 64 MB RAM (and

definitively if you have 32 MB or less), run Regedit, and scroll down to the

Registry key above.

Create a new "MapCache" entry: right-click on an empty spot in the Regedit

screen, select New -> Binary Value -> type in MapCache (its value is of no

importance, according to Microsoft) -> click OK or press Enter.

Exit the Registry Editor and restart Windows.

The information quoted above is also available in the Mtsutil.txt file,

located on the Win98 Setup cd-rom, in the \TOOLS\MTSUTIL subfolder. Open it in

Notepad for reading.

You can also enable "mapped cache" without "messing" with the Registry, by

running MAPC_ON.INF, or disable it by installing MAPC_OFF.INF. These are 2

information (.INF) files, also found in \TOOLS\MTSUTIL.

To do this, right-click on the one you want in Explorer, select Install, and

finally restart Windows.

NOTE: For details on how to configure your "mapped cache" for maximum

performance on your Win98 system, read the "MAP THE CACHE" topic in

TIPS98.TXT (further below).

WIN98 ATX SHUT DOWN FIX (My ©trick)

This kept bugging me since I have installed Win98 retail (Gold) Upgrade on my

Abit BH6 Pentium II ATX motherboard, back in December '98.

To my knowlegde an ATX Win98 computer canNOT be forced to shut down to the

native/true MS-DOS prompt, as we were accustomed to in the good ol' Win95/OSR2

days, due to the inability of the Win98 kernel of accepting such redirecting

commands. The Win98 shut-down sequence does not allow to exit the GUI without

performing a complete system power off, independent of the ACPI (Advanced

Configuration Power Interface) status, and even disabling all ACPI features in

the BIOS and/or in Windows 98's Power Management Control Panel applet makes no

difference.

The standard ATX 2.01 PC power supply unit includes an ON/OFF feedback wire,

which allows a compatible Operating System, like Windows 98, to send a "soft"

signal to the computer's power supply, literally shutting it down (that's why

this process is also called "soft power-off").

Check out these reference web sites for detailed info on ATX and ACPI

standards and specifications:

- ATX Form Factor:

http://www.teleport.com/~atx/

- Advanced Configuration & Power Interface:

http://www.teleport.com/~acpi/

NOTE: Certain ATX motherboards have the ability to disable the system shut

down feature through BIOS Setup, but unfortunately the Abit BH6 is not

one of them. :(

As some of you may have noticed, another new "feature" (I'd call it rather an

annoyance) of the new ATX powered motherboards/systems is the single position

electrical power switch, which can only send an ON/OFF "hard" signal to the

power supply ("hard power-off"), but it is not a true ON/OFF switch, and it

canNOT physically turn off the system, because it doesn't have an OFF

position, as older dual position mechanical switches do on AT and Baby AT form

factor motherboards.

I almost went on to rewire my ATX power supply, in order to bypass the ON/OFF

feedback signal wire, and enable the use of a true power switch.

But until then, I found the easy solution: temporarily rename the Windows 98

main directory to some other name, and once at the MS-DOS command line, rename

it back to be able to restart Windows.

NOTES: - All batch (plain text) files below can be created/edited with

Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.

- I used here C:\WINDOWS as default Win98 folder name. You need to

replace it if different on your system.

NECESSARY STEPS:

1. Edit/create the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the root folder of your boot

drive/partition (default is C:\) to include this line:

SET COPYCMD=/Y

to disable the confirmation prompts before overwriting a file when using the

COPY, MOVE and XCOPY commands.

2. Copy the MOVE.EXE file from C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND to C:\ root, because it will

be used further below to rename the Windows 98 folder. This is necessary

because MOVE won't allow renaming the parent directory or the subdirectory

inside which it resides (in this case C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND).

3. Reboot.

4. Create a shortcut (.PIF = Program Information File) to COMMAND.COM on your

Desktop, and call it Exit98 (or any other suggestive name you wish).

6. Right-click on Exit98 and select Properties.

7. Click the Program tab.

8. Replace COMMAND.COM in the "Cmd line:" box with:

C:\MOVE C:\WINDOWS C:\W98

to have the MOVE command rename your Win98 folder from WINDOWS to W98.

8. Place a check mark in the "Close on exit" box.

9. Click the Advanced button.

10. Place a check mark in the "MS-DOS mode" box, and make sure the only other

checked box is "Use current MS-DOS configuration".

11. Click OK/Apply twice to confirm changes.

Configured this way, the PIF shortcut ends and tries to return to the Win98

GUI, but since the Windows directory is not present anymore (as stated on the

PATH line and by the %windir% environment variable which loaded when Win98 GUI

started), it aborts to the native/true MS-DOS mode, unloading the resident

part of the WIN module and the second COMMAND environment from memory.

12. Create a DOS batch file containing these lines:

@C:\MOVE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS > NUL

@C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM

and this is VERY important: call it WIN.BAT and place it in C:\ root.

It is also IMPORTANT to mention the .COM extension for the WIN.COM executable.

Otherwise the batch file will be caught into an infinite loop, trying to

restart itself over and over!

Why create WIN.BAT, and why place it in C:\ root?

Simple. Because it is known that when Windows 9x starts by running the WIN

command, a batch file with the SAME name as the actual WIN.COM executable and

residing in C:\ root is executed BEFORE WIN.COM (which is valid for ALL MS-DOS

.COM and .EXE executables bearing IDENTICAL names with user created batch

files residing in a directory listed on the PATH statement).

From now on you will be "transported" automatically to the native/real MS-DOS

mode every time you "shut down" Windows 98 by running Exit98.

Actually Exit98 simply exits Win98 to MS-DOS mode (with the WIN module loaded

in memory), from which (under normal conditions) you can return to Windows by

typing EXIT and pressing Enter. But not so, since the entire Win98 folder just

"vanished" by being renamed. Ha! :)

IMPORTANT:

In case your Win98 computer locks up unexpectedly, i.e. due to a sudden power

outage (you never know, unless you have a battery powered UPS unit or a

laptop) right after renaming Win98's folder, you want to be able to get back

into Windows after rebooting. To do this, copy: HIMEM.SYS, IFSHLP.SYS,

DBLBUFF.SYS, EMM386.EXE, MSCDEX.EXE, SMARTDRV.EXE etc... and ANY other

TSRs/programs (normally residing in your Windows main directory or its

subdirectories) listed in your startup files (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat),

and also used by the Win98 OS bootup routine, to C:\ root. Then modify their

Config.sys and/or Autoexec.bat lines to point to the new path.

This is mandatory because the Win9x boot process (built into IO.SYS) reads the

MSDOS.SYS WinBootDir= line to learn the default location of these two DOS

(legacy) devices located in the Windows folder, and loads them automatically

in memory, ONLY IF they are NOT present in Config.sys (located in C:\ root):

- HIMEM.SYS = the default MS-DOS high/upper/extended memory manager (if not

replaced by a similar 3rd party memory manager in Config.sys), which enables

and maps the computer's extended memory (XMS) so that the Win9x GUI can use

it, load and run properly, and

- IFSHLP.SYS = the MS-DOS Installable File System HeLPer support driver, which

enables Windows 32-bit disk access and makes the GUI (32-bit) compatible with

the underlying MS-DOS layer (16-bit) on top of which loads.

But if these drivers ARE present in Config.sys (proper DEVICE lines) they load

from there, bypassing the default Win9x OS boot sequence.

It is also recommended to add this line to your Config.sys, AFTER the last

DEVICE/DEVICEHIGH line:

INSTALL=C:\MOVE.EXE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS

to rename your Win98 folder back to C:\WINDOWS, in case your machine crashed

before you had the chance to do it yourself by running WIN.BAT.

WARNING: If you try to run any DOS based programs residing in your Windows

parent folder or subfolders AFTER renaming your Win98 directory, you will

encounter this error message:

"Bad command of file name"

To prevent this from happening, create a separate batch file I called

REN98.BAT:

@C:\MOVE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS > NUL

which renames your Win98 folder back to its original name. Place it in a

folder listed on your PATH statement (the "SET PATH=" line should be present

in your Config.sys or Autoexec.bat), and run it immediately after you exit

Win98 to MS-DOS by running the Exit98 shortcut, ONLY IF you don't want to

restart Windows right away by running WIN, that would start WIN.BAT from C:\

root, which has its own line for renaming W98 back to WINDOWS.

Voila!

FEEDBACK: Do you have other solutions to this problem? Please let me know:

axcel216@aol.com

98 UPDATES MADE EASY

I'm sure you have been watching Microsoft's web site for the (too many)

"latest" system updates, patches, fixes etc, which usually keep your Windows

98 copy up to date. I know, because I have. In fact, I've lost track of all

those "patches". :) And if you installed the Critical Notification Update,

you are automatically notified when a new update is issued at Microsoft's

Win98 Update site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

There is also another Microsoft page (not widely known):

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp

which lists most Win98 updates you can manually download and install.

You can also visit the complete (unofficial) list of all Windows 98 updates

web page for extensive details:

http://www.walbeehm.com/win98upd.html

But the problem is that after completing the downloads, Win98 automatically

installs them, tells you when it's done, and eventually prompts you to

restart Windows (if needed). And there is a big chance that if you later

delete your Internet Explorer temporary files, and/or clean your drives of

unneeded junk, they will be gone. And if you will ever need to install the

same updates all over (i.e. if you reinstalled Win98, or upgrade another Win98

computer), you'll have to download them again.

Well, not quite. Follow these steps to save the original installation files

and keep them handy for future upgrades:

1. After each update/fix is finished installing, open Explorer (or File

Manager), and search for a folder named Msdownload.tmp (short name is

MSDOWN~1), usually located under your Windows directory, or if you have more

than one hard disk/partition, this folder may reside on your second

drive/partition (D).

Some of the automatically installed update files are also found in the MS IE

4/5 temporary cache folders. Therefore it is advised to empty your Internet

Explorer cache prior to downloading updates, to find them easier afterwards.

To do this: right-click on the Desktop Internet Explorer icon (or open IE ->

click View -> choose Internet Options) -> select Properties -> click the

General tab -> click the Delete button under Temporary Internet Files.

Consider also removing ALL references to failed installs from your WULog.txt

file, found in your Windows folder. To do this you need to strip it first of

its hidden and read-only attributes: in Explorer, right-click on Wulog.txt

-> select the General tab -> uncheck the Read-only and Hidden boxes -> click

OK/Apply. Now edit Wulog.txt in Notepad and delete all lines that contain

the word "failed".

Some of the newer Win98 system updates/fixes (especially if part of Win98 SP1

Update) are stored in your C:\Program Files\WindowsUpdate folder (short name

is C:\PROGRA~1\WINDOW~1). Look there for the WUHistv3.log text file, you can

view in Notepad.

2. Download ONE update at a time, and then look for any .CAB and/or .EXE

files in these folders. Move them all to a safe location (i.e. backup disk),

and eventually zip them up to save space. You can use Winzip:

http://www.winzip.com/

the popular Win9x ZIPping/unZIPping tool (shareware, free trial) to do this.

3. Now you can erase ALL temporary folders mentioned above from your fixed

drives/partitions, which only add to disk space waste. :(

4. Copy back the files you want from your backups, and (re)install away when

needed.

5. To only extract individual files from a compressed executable (.EXE),

without installing the respective update, you can use one of the command line

switches listed at this MSKB page:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q197/1/47.asp

to run it.

To extract all files from a compressed cabinet (.CAB), (double)-click (or

right-click and select Extract) on a CAB file to decompress its files in the

desired folder.

NOTES: 1. Most of these rules: the .EXE command line parameters and the Cab

View extraction, are also valid for Windows 95/OSR2 update files.

2. Windows 95/OSR2 users: CabView.DLL is NOT installed by the OS, but

is available as part of Microsoft Power Toys 95 Set [204 KB, free,

unsupported]:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/

Right-click on CabView.INF and select Install.

3. Windows 98 users: CabView is already installed.

6. To install updates from extracted .CAB files, one would presume it's enough

to right-click on the respective INF(ormation) file and choose Install. Wrong!

These are "advanced information files", and need to be executed with a command

line similar to:

RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection Filename.INF,Section_Name

You can also create a batch (.BAT) file (using Notepad), to automate this

process, and also to extract all files from a .CAB to the current folder,

before starting the install routine:

@ECHO OFF

FOR %%1 IN (*.CAB) DO EXTRACT.EXE /E %%1

FOR %%2 IN (*.INF) DO RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection %%2

EXIT

Note that the INFormation filename and extension (.INF) MUST be entered after

the batch filename (separated by a space), but the Section Name is optional

(separated by a comma).

This automation method is recommended STRICTLY for files downloaded from the

Microsoft Windows 98 Update pages!

UPDATE:

Check out these pages for detailed Windows 98 Update troubleshooting FAQs:

- "Troubleshooting Windows Update Connection and Download Problems" MSKB

article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q193/6/57.asp

- Windows Update Problems:

http://hannah.jentronix.com/win95/faq/section4.html#4.3.2

- Problems Accessing Windows Update:

http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/troub-31.shtml

- Fixing Up Windows Update:

http://www.activecomputing.com/pathways/windows/winupdfix.html

MAP THE CACHE

Windows 98 has introduced a new (and very useful I might add) feature I like

to call "Mapped Cache".

Jointly developed by Intel and Microsoft, the Intel Application Launch

Accelerator (IALA) technology speeds up considerably application loading time,

thus improving storage subsystem performance.

See this Intel web page for more details:

http://developer.intel.com/solutions/archive/issue4/stories/top2.htm

IALA uses the new Windows 98 Defrag and Task Monitor (TaskMon) tools, to speed

up the loading of frequently used Win32 applications by "remapping" the hard

drive(s), and relocating the 32-bit program executables that meet Win98's

requirements for "optimization". This is broken down into 4 settings, which

can be tweaked separately, only by editing the Registry:

- specific app profile (default is to use app profile to determine its

"remapping" compatibility),

- minimum app log file size [these files have the .LGC, .LGD, .LGE etc

extensions, depending on the letter (C, D, E etc) assigned to the

drive/partition where the program resides, default size being 1000 Bytes,

after which Defrag starts moving an app on disk],

- maximum number of days an app is not being used (default is 90, after which

an app is not optimized anymore),

- maximum number of apps allowed for optimization (default is 50).

Mapped Cache requires this TaskMon command line as String value (Win98

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 Win98 loads.

App remapping starts working only AFTER the first time running Defrag with

the "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" option enabled

(Win98 default), which actually moves parts of the executables towards the

hard drive/partition starting (inner) cluster, obviously accessed faster than

the ending (outer) clusters.

All remapping operations are logged in Optlog.txt, a plain text file located

in the C:\Windows\Applog folder, you can open with Notepad for viewing.

Modifying this file doesn't make any difference, because it will be

overwritten each time an app is remapped, or after changing the Registry

parameters (shown below).

So far we've seen the Win98 defaults. But they can be changed by editing the

Registry.

Start Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\AppStartParams

In the right hand pane, look for these DWORD Values: "MaxApps", "MaxNoUseDays"

and "MinLogSize".

You can modify each of them: double-click on the one you want -> check the

Decimal box -> type a number -> click OK or press Enter.

These are the values I use, exactly as they appear in Regedit (only an

example):

"MaxApps"=0x00000046 (70)

"MaxNoUseDays"=0x00000063 (99)

"MinLogSize"=0x000001f4 (500)

Numbers in parenthesis represent the Decimal values used for optimization.

Try not to increase/decrease these values too much (especially the

"MinLogSize"), because app remapping might stop working properly.

Exit Regedit when done.

Optionally, you can delete all app log files: .LGC, .LGD, LGE etc, from

C:\Windows\Applog. They will be recreated when you first open a program, but

ONLY AFTER running Defrag with the "Rearrange program files so my programs

start faster" option enabled, on ALL your hard drives/partitions.

NOTE: Read also the "98 FASTER APP LOAD" topic in TIPS98.TXT (included) for

more details.

... One more thing: BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

BUGGY TWEAKUI 98 [UPDATED 7|7|99]

Oh no... not *another* BUG alert!? Yeap!

Unfortunately this affects one of the most popular tools bundled on the

Windows 98 Setup cd-rom, the (in)famous TweakUI "Power Toy". This so-called

"final" release of TweakUI 98 has a lot of BUGs.

And after receiving lots of e-mail from frustrated users, complaining about a

great variety of problems after using TweakUI 98, I have decided to search for

fixes.

To fix most of the "problems" TweakUI created on your Win9x/NT system [some

seem to be irrecoverable though :(], first run the "buggy" TweakUI applet

[for the last time :)], and restore ALL settings to their defaults (if

possible). Then uninstall TweakUI from Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs

-> double-click on "Tweak UI". Now search ALL your Windows 9x/NT local

drives/partitions and delete ALL TweakUI.* files (default locations):

- C:\Windows\Help\TWEAKUI.CNT

- C:\Windows\Help\TWEAKUI.HLP

- C:\Windows\Inf\TWEAKUI.INF

- C:\Windows\System\TWEAKUI.CPL

CAUTION:

Do NOT install the TweakUI 98 release [113 KB]:

ftp://ftp.cmp.com/dist/wm/wmfiles/1998/9811nov/twekui98.exe

posted at this Windows Magazine page:

http://www.winmag.com/win98/software.htm

It is IDENTICAL with the one on the MS Win98 Setup cd-rom!

Finally, apply "THE FIXES" at the bottom of this topic. But now let's see...

THE BUGS:

The TweakUI applet included on the Win98 Gold (retail/OEM) cd-rom has a few

known, and some less known or undocumented BUGs:

- Some of the tool tips (activated by right-clicking on items/boxes) show the

wrong information.

- Enabling some of the items listed under the New tab may generate error

messages.

- The Stretch wallpaper Display feature is disabled if "IE4 enabled" and/or

"Active Desktop enabled" boxes are NOT checked in TweakUI's IE4 tab. This can

be fixed by running Regedit, and adding the "WallpaperStyle=2" String value

under this Registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop

Refer to the "STRETCH WALLPAPER" topic in TIPS98.TXT (included) for details.

- The Automatic logon feature does not always supply the required password.

- The Run/Don't run Scandisk after an improper shutdown prompt options may be

reversed if they have been reset in TweakUI's Boot tab, the "Autorun

Scandisk" option. This corresponds to the wrong values assigned to the

AutoScan= line in MSDOS.SYS, under the [Options] section. This can be fixed

by editing MSDOS.SYS manually, a system file found in C:\ root, using Notepad

(in Windows) or EDIT.COM (in DOS), and changing the AutoScan= line to show

the value you want (valid switches: 0, 1 and 2). But first you need to strip

MSDOS.SYS of its hidden, read-only and system attributes, by running:

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

To learn more about this, read the "BYPASS AUTOSCAN" topic in OSR2TIPS.TXT

(included).

- In WinNT 4.0 some Desktop icons may become corrupted, reverting to generic

icons even if the user manually changes them back, and some insist on

displaying the shortcut overlay, even after disabling it by running TweakUI.

This BUG seems to affect ALL icon overlays, not only the shortcut one.

More info here: [Thank you CptSiskoX@flashmail.Com!]

http://sites.netscape.net/computingx/tweakui.html

This the Microsoft MSKB fix:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q199/1/52.asp

This can also be fixed by performing the following steps in this EXACT

sequence:

1. Delete the (possibly corrupted) ShellIconCache file from the Windows

folder.

2. Open TweakUI -> select the Repair tab -> activate "Repair Associations" and

then "Repair Icons".

3. Open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe

Make sure the "(Default)" String in the right hand pane displays "exefile".

Modify it correspondingly if different (don't type the quotes).

Then go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon

Make sure the "(Default)" String in the right hand pane displays "%1".

Modify it correspondingly if different (don't type the quotes).

In case you decide to enable the Desktop icons "Shortcut overlay" in

TweakUI's Explorer tab, make sure to follow these steps:

1. Disable the "Show icons using all possible colors" option from Control

Panel -> Display -> Plus!/Effects tab -> uncheck the box.

2. Delete the ShellIconCache file from the Windows folder.

3. Restart Windows.

4. Reenable the "Show icons using all possible colors" option in the Display

applet.

5. Restart Windows one more time.

- The Notify tunes feature doesn't work in GroupWise 41a on Win98 systems if

TweakUI was installed before GroupWise. This can be fixed by uninstalling

TweakUI before installing GroupWise, and then reinstalling TweakUI.

- TweakUI's Automatic logon (skip password) feature works only on the first

reboot in WinNT 4.0 (only if you have Administrator privileges or own the NT

computer). After that, NT disables it, and it will prompt for password again

on all subsequent reboots. This can be fixed by rechecking TweakUI's Network

tab -> "Log on automatically at system startup" box during every NT session.

Another possible fix

"To permanently get rid of the Login message at bootup, disable (uncheck) the

line "Clear Last User at Logon" from TweakUI's Paranoia tab. Reboot. When the

Login message appears, fill in the User Name and don't type in a Password.

Reboot again. Poof! Login box is gone."

- If the "Activation follows mouse (X-Mouse)" box is checked and then

unchecked in TweakUI's Mouse tab, it still remains active on all subsequent

reboots in Windows 98. This can be fixed if both "X-Mouse AutoRaise" and

"Mouse hot tracking effects" boxes are unchecked in TweakUI's General tab.

If this doesn't work, uninstall the Mouse from Control Panel -> System ->

Device Manager tab -> double-click Mouse -> highlight your Mouse type -> click

the Remove button. Restart Windows and your mouse will be redetected.

- X-Mouse settings do not "stick": TweakUI's Mouse tab -> "Activation follows

mouse (X-Mouse)" box checked, and: TweakUI's General tab -> "X-Mouse

AutoRaise" and "Mouse hot tracking effects" boxes checked. This can be fixed

in some cases by adding/changing the Win.ini X-Mouse entries, under the

[XMouse] section (create them if not present):

[XMouse]

BringWindowToTop=1

ConsoleWindowsOnly=1

Delay=0

Edit Win.ini (located in your Windows folder) with Notepad or Sysedit. Change

any of these lines from 1 to 0 or back, and then restart Windows to see if it

works.

- Sometimes the Start menu pops up and "sticks" unexpectedly, not allowing

access to its folders, and/or shows non-installed features, like "Remove

Docking PC". This can be fixed temporarily by clicking the: "Shut Down" (then

Cancel), "Run", or "Help" items. The permanent fix is to uninstall TweakUI.

- TweakUI canNOT be uninstalled in WinNT 4.0 by accessing the Add/Remove

Programs applet from Control Panel. This can be fixed by deleting ALL

TweakUI.* files on the local hard drive(s), and then manually deleting this

Registry key (including all its subkeys), by running Regedit.exe:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\TweakUI

- On Windows 9x systems with MS Internet Explorer 4/5 installed, selecting a

"Custom" Search engine using TweakUI's General tab, displays the surrounding

signs (?, " etc) in the search bar besides the typed keyword(s).

- The Start, Open and Explore menu items are disabled (grayed out) if all

drive letters are unchecked in TweakUI's My Computer tab. This can be fixed

by placing the check marks back into the drive letter boxes. This BUG is

acknowledged by Microsoft, in the "Commands Unavailable on Start Button

Context Menu" MSKB article: [Thank you Ojatex@aol.com!]

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/2/09.asp

- Other TweakUI 98 BUGs and their "fixes", as acknowledged by Microsoft in

these MSKB articles:

* "Web Style and Custom Options Unavailable on General Tab":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q217/3/73.asp

* "No "Users" Icon Visible in Control Panel":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q193/9/13.asp

* "Toolbars Menu Commands Are Unavailable in Windows 98":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q199/0/59.asp

* "The Network Neighborhood Icon No Longer Appears on the Desktop":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q195/1/12.asp

* "Active Desktop Command Is Missing When You Right-Click Desktop":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q192/4/00.asp

* "Missing Drives in My Computer and Windows Explorer":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q191/5/79.asp

* "Zoom In/Out Unavailable After Installing TweakUI":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q190/7/72.asp

* "Log Off Command Missing From Start Menu in Windows 98":

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q190/6/44.asp

You get a list of all these articles (and more), when you type TweakUI in

this MicroSoft Knowledge Base page search box:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/search/c.asp

- Other (unofficial) TweakUI 98 resource pages:

* Tweakui For Windows 98:

http://newlife-win98.server101.com/tweakui_info.htm

* PowerToys - TweakUI:

http://www.futurenet.com/pcplus/W98Comp/ptoy/tweakui.htm

* Tweak UI:

http://www.ac.net/~lilesj/tweak.html

* PC Forrest: Microsoft Powertoys User's Guide:

http://members.tripod.com/pcforrest/powertoys.htm

* MalekTips - Windows 98 - TweakUI:

http://malektips.envprogramming.com/windows_98_-_tweakuitoc.html

* John Woram @ Windows Magazine: Bring Back Tweak UI:

http://www.winmag.com/library/1999/0801/sol0060.htm

* O'Reilly's "Windows 98 in a Nutshell":

http://www.ora.com/catalog/win98nut/chapter/index.html#ref8

If you have experienced or read about other Win98 TweakUI BUGs not listed

here (and their eventual fixes), please send me e-mail at:

axcel216@aol.com

Your time is greatly appreciated.

THE FIXES:

1. Until Microsoft decides to fix the Win98 TweakUI, you can download this

earlier (but BETTER) version [100 KB, free, unsupported]:

http://www.tweak3d.net/files/tweakui.zip

This TweakUI release besides being more stable (and less buggy), "fixes" some

of the bugs listed above and displays the correct tool tips activated by

right-clicking on items/boxes, which triggers a "mini-help" tip box to pop up.

Use an unzipping tool, i.e. the popular Winzip:

http://www.winzip.com/

to decompress (extract) all TweakUI files to an empty folder. Then right-click

on TweakUI.inf (in Explorer), and select Install. Now you can start TweakUI

from your Control Panel. Have fun.

TIP: This release of TweakUI and the one on the Win98 Setup cd-rom are

meant to be used ONLY on Windows 95/OSR2 systems ONLY with Microsoft

Internet Explorer 4/5 installed, and Windows 98 or NT 4.0 machines.

Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 users WITHOUT MS IE 4/5 installed, are advised

to download TweakUI 95, part of the Microsoft Power Toys 95 [204 KB,

free, unsupported]:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/

... But this doesn't mean you shouldn't BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM AND REGISTRY

FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

2. Ditch (uninstall) TweakUI 98 as described above, and use another (similar)

3rd party tweaking tool from this "FREE WINDOWS 9x/NT POWER TOYS" list, part

of SOFTWARE.TXT (included). My personal favorites are X-Setup, Registry Styler

99 and ItweakU LE (all freeware).

UPDATE:

Download John Woram's TweakUI 98 comprehensive guide in HTML format from:

http://www.woram.com/INFO.HTM

John Woram is editor at Windows Magazine:

http://www.winmag.com/

Direct download [134 KB, Ѧree]:

http://www.woram.com/appendix.zip

Unzip all files into the same folder, and then open Appendix.htm in your

favorite web browser.

NEWS:

Microsoft decided to completely remove the "plagued" TweakUI "power toy" from

ALL present and future MS Windows releases: Windows 98 SEU, Windows 2000

(formerly known as WinNT 5.0), Windows Millennium etc.

FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2  

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, with or without

the Microsoft DUN Security Patch v4.0 [319 KB, free] installed:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q191/5/40.asp

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

the Microsoft DUN Security Patch v1.3 [2.24 MB, free]:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q191/4/94.asp

because this DUN Update implements the "IPMTU" Registry value for Internet

Packet size, instead of "MaxMTU".

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:

- Ethernet networks: MTU = 1500

- SLIP servers: MTU = 1006

- PPP protocol (Internet TCP/IP): MTU = 576.

THE BUG:

There is a little known (undocumented) limitation in Windows 98: [more like a

BUG :)] the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit), represented by the "IPMTU" String

value in Win98's Registry, which determines the maximum packet size of data

that can "fit" through the network "pipes", when using the PPP (Point to

Point) protocol to connect to the Internet, is said to be limited to a minimum

of 576, no matter what changes are made to the Registry or to the TCP/IP

settings: Control Panel -> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced tab -> IP

Packet Size -> Small or Custom (if the "Custom" value is created in the

Registry). So even if you assign an IPMTU lower than 576 to the "Small" or

"Custom" Strings under the Registry key below, Windows 98 still uses a packet

size of 576. Example:

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

"0"="Automatic"

"1500"="Large"

"1000"="Medium"

"576"="Small"

"548"="Custom"

THE WORKAROUND:

BUT I have found a workaround to enable the use of a MTU lower than 576 with

Win98, by applying the Registry changes described below. Another Win98 BUG

squashed! 1 down, 1 zillion to go... Ouch! ;)

Thorough tests performed on 21 different PC clones (that I am aware of so

far), running Windows 98 retail, SP1 or SE, with or without the Microsoft DUN

v4.0 Security Patch [319 KB, free] installed:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/dun40.exe

if using a MTU lower than 576 makes any difference on your computer.

Why use a MTU lower than 576? Because with most ISPs and Online Services (like

AOL), even if they use a MTU of 576 at server end [read the "ISPS KNOWN MTU

VALUES" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) for details], using a MTU lower than

576 might improve modem throughput, thus increase transfer rate, especially

when accessing web pages with huge graphic files and/or when downloading large

compressed files (i.e. ZIP format) from WWW/FTP sites.

WARNING: FIRST BACKUP YOUR WIN98 REGISTRY FILES TO A SAFE LOCATION!

The principle is to MATCH ALL MTU Registry values to the one you want (I used

548 in this example).

NOTE: A MTU lower than 512 becomes ineffective, resulting in too many small

packets, which end up overflowing the network "pipe".

Experiment with different MTU values (i.e. 568, 560, 552, 548, 536, 528, 520,

512) to find your "sweet spot", depending on [too :(] many factors, like: your

ISP's network type/speed, connection quality, phone line conditions etc.

1. TWEAK "IPMTU":

Start Regedit, go to these "Net" keys, and modify ALL String values shown

below to read 548:

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

"IPMTU"="548"

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

"default"="548"

@="548"

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

"0"="Automatic"

"1500"="Large"

"1000"="Medium"

"548"="Small"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0002

"IPMTU"="548"

The "548"="Small" String above needs to be renamed to show 548.

If any of these Strings are not present, create them (read further below the

paragraph on creating a new MaxMTU String for details on how to do it).

These are ONLY my "Net" keys, and you MUST make these changes ONLY under YOUR

Net keys that display "DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter" and "DriverDesc"="AOL

Adapter" (the second one applies ONLY to AOL users who installed version 3.0

or 4.0 of AOL 32-bit software).

2. Select the Small IP Packet size (after renaming the default "576"="Small"

Registry String above to "548") for your TCP/IP connections in Control Panel

-> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced tab -> IP Packet Size -> Small (set

in this case to 548).

3. TWEAK "MaxMTU":

Similarly, with the Registry Editor open, go to these "NetTrans" keys, and

modify ALL String values shown below to read 548, IDENTICAL with the String

values under the "Net" keys above:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0000

"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0001

"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0002

"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0003

"MaxMTU"="548"

These are ONLY my "NetTrans" keys, and you MUST make these changes ONLY under

YOUR NetTrans keys that display "DriverDesc"="TCP/IP".

The MaxMTU String is not present by default if you have NEVER added it to your

Registry, either manually by using Regedit, or by running a MTU "tweaker",

like EasyMTU [357 KB, freeware]:

http://www.rob.cybercomm.nl/easymtu.zip

To create a new MaxMTU String by using Regedit: right-click on each of your

NetTrans 000n (0000, 0001, 0002, 0003 etc) subkeys that contain the

"DriverDesc"="TCP/IP" parameter -> selectNNew -> String -> right-click on the

new String -> select Rename -> name it MaxMTU -> Click OK or press Enter.

Now double-click on each "MaxMTU" String -> change its value to read 548 ->

Click OK or press Enter.

IMPORTANT:

Note that on some Win98 systems the "NetTrans" Registry keys MAY NOT exist,

especially if you installed Win98 on a "clean" drive, NOT as an upgrade on top

of a previous Win95/OSR1/OSR2 release. The "NetTrans" keys and their "MaxMTU"

values are MANDATORY for this workaround! Therefore you need to ADD the entire

TCP/IP NetTrans key with all its subkeys and values to your Registry. To apply

this "fix" properly, (double)-click on NETTRANS.REG (included here) in

Explorer or File Manager, and answer Yes to the prompt screen.

But BEFORE doing this, you need to modify ALL C:\\WINDOWS instances in

NETTRANS.REG to point to YOUR Windows 98 folder if different on your computer!

Apply this "fix" ONLY IF your Win98 Registry DOES NOT contain the NetTrans

keys!

All "MaxMTU" values in NETTRANS.REG are set to 548. To use a different MTU,

change them to any value between 576 and 512 (see examples above), by editing

NETTRANS.REG with Notepad, and then register (merge) it as described above.

TIP: If you connect to AOL, use a MTU of 548 with ALL your IPMTU and MaxMTU

Strings for maximum performance. [Thank you Ojatex@aol.com!]

Close Regedit when done and restart Windows so all changes can take effect.

Note that you have to restart Windows every time you modify the MTU values!

4. Now test if the new MTU settings really work, and if it makes any

difference on your system:

A. Connect to your Internet provider as usual, using DUN, or AOL v3.0/v4.0

32-bit software (if you are an AOL member).

B. Open a DOS box and run this PING command (parameters are case sensitive):

PING -f -l 548 www.your_isp_name.com

or this one (for ISPs that have the "net" suffix instead of "com"):

PING -f -l 548 www.your_isp_name.net

Note that I used here a packet size IDENTICAL with the Registry MTU value

(548 in this example), in order to obtain non-fragmented "pings". Using a

packet size larger than the one specified in the Registry on the PING

command line, returns ALL packets as fragmented.

Replace "your_isp_name" (no quotes) with your real ISP name. Example:

PING -f -l 548 www.att.net

if using AT&T WorldNet as your ISP.

For accurate results, you need to run PING BEFORE making ANY Registry

changes, and ONLY IF you have NEVER changed the MTU by editing the Registry

or by using a MTU tweaking tool, like EasyMTU [357 KB, freeware]:

http://www.rob.cybercomm.nl/easymtu.zip

thus using the default Win98 MTU value of 1500. If you DID change the MTU

before, open Regedit, go to the "IPMTU" and "MaxMTU" Strings listed above

under YOUR "Net" and "NetTrans" keys (respecting the conditions stated above

for ALL IPMTU and MaxMTU Registry values!), and DELETE ALL "IPMTU" and

"MaxMTU" Strings you find! Then restart Windows, and run PING again with a

MTU of 1500 (the default).

Only after that apply the MTU changes in the example above (all "IPMTU" and

"MaxMTU" Strings MUST read an IDENTICAL value, in this case 548), restart

Windows again, and run PING one more time using 548 for the packet size, as

described above.

Compare the PING times in both cases, and notice any differences.

C. Another good test for confirming an increase in modem transfer speed is

to download the same file from the same site, using the same WWW/FTP

browser, BEFORE and AFTER making the changes to your Registry (using a MTU

of 1500 and 512 respectively), and timing your downloads for comparison.

You can also run these tests with the MTU set to 576, which in some cases

might give you the best transfer rate (depending on your ISP).

5. Check out these other topics to help you speed up your analog modem

transfers to the MAX:

- "AOL MAXMTU REVISITED" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;

- "AOL 4.0 MTU FIX" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;

- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 1" in REGISTRY.TXT: only Win95 users;

- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 2" in REGISTRY.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 1" in TIPS98.TXT: only Win98 users;

- "56K MODEMS @ 56K SPEED!" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "ISPS KNOWN MTU VALUES" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "MAP YOUR HOSTS" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "SPEEDUP MY DUN!" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "FAST, FAST, FAST" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;

- "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users.

... And these MTU/56K/DUN reference links:

http://members.aol.com/axcel216/modem.htm

6. Enjoy the speeed boost!

98 FASTER APP LOAD  

Microsoft introduced a new "smart" tool with Windows 98, called WinAlign

(located as Walign.exe in C:\Windows\System).

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 on Win98 computers with only 16 MB RAM,

and a significant memory gain on 32 MB machines. On the other hand, this is

barely noticeable on systems with 64 MB or more installed RAM.

Significant memory gain using Winalign is only noticed when using very large

executables.

Winalign DOES NOT decrease application loading time when running a program!

The only way you can speedup the loading times of your programs is by using

Win98's new Defrag and Task Monitor tools (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 (Win98 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 Win98 loads.

The only program executables designed to be aligned by Winalign (so far) 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 program

user) to a few RISKS:

- You may break a particular application (usually only slightly).

- You may break a program's ability to update using patch technology.

- You may be violating a license agreement by modifying copyrighted files.

Therefore follow these steps to optimize your Win98 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

Win98 \Applog subfolder (C:\Windows\Applog is default), 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 Optlog.txt (you can view Optlog.txt with

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 Win98's

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. Go to this comprehensive Windows Magazine WinAlign page:

http://www.winmag.com/win98/alignfaq.htm

and follow the guidelines there to properly "align" the programs you want, or

"unalign" the ones that have already been modified.

NOTE: Read also the "MAP THE CACHE" topic in TIPS98.TXT (included) for more

details.

WARNING:

Users of Quarterdeck MagnaRAM 97, QEMM 9.0, Sincronys Windrenalin, Network

Associates (formerly Helix) Hurricane 98 v1.0x, and/or similar Win95/98

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 included with Windows 98's 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 specific upgrades!

UPDATE:

"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 Newsgroup:

"Check out this how-to on everything dealing with Walign:

http://www.winmag.com/win98/alignfaq.htm

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.

WIN98 VXD BUG

Have you ever got a "VxD error" message while starting Windows 98 or 98 SE?

It's pretty much "fatal", and automatically returns you to the DOS prompt. :(

Especially if you upgraded to Win98 from Win95 or OSR2, since some old 32-bit

protected virtual drivers might have "survived" the upgrade.

The MS Windows 98 Resource Kit Help file (Win98rk.hlp, found in the

\Tools\Reskit\Help folder on the Win98 Setup cd-rom) states that:

"If a virtual device driver (VxD) is missing or damaged, Windows 98 displays

an error message that indicates which VxD is involved. If the VxD is critical

to the operation of Windows 98, then Windows 98 does not start and the screen

displays the command prompt. You might need to run Windows 98 Setup and select

Verify or Safe Recovery to replace the missing VxD."

But there is an easier solution to this problem.

The generic driver Vmm32.vxd (located in C:\Windows\System) was built when

you first installed Win98 on your computer. Depending on your hardware specs,

it may contain some or all of the following VXDs (Virtual eXtended Drivers):

biosxlat.vxd, configmg.vxd, dynapage.vxd, ebios.vxd, enable.vxd, ifsmgr.vxd,

int13.vxd, ios.vxd, parity.vxd, reboot.vxd, vcache.vxd, vcd.vxd, vcomm.vxd,

vcond.vxd, vdd.vxd, vdef.vxd, vfat.vxd, vfbackup.vxd, vflatd.vxd, vkd.vxd,

vmcpd.vxd, vmouse.vxd, vmpoll.vxd, vpd.vxd, vsd.vxd, vtdapi.vxd, vwin32.vxd,

vxdldr.vxd. Vmm32.vxd is not only slow to load (because of its huge size), but

if you have added/changed your hardware devices after installing Win98, this

old driver might not match your system specs anymore.

Certain system errors, like random lockups, error messages at startup, VMM

errors, erratic and/or slow mouse movement etc, might be resolved by

selectively overriding a VXD included within Vmm32.vxd.

Start by manually extracting one or more of these individual drivers from the

.CAB files found in the \Win98 folder on your Win98 Setup cd-rom, and then

copying them to your C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 folder (change the Windows folder

name if different on your machine). Use this command line (example):

EXTRACT /Y /A D:\WIN98\BASE4.CAB VCOMM.VXD

to extract VCOMM.VXD to the current directory. Typing in the first .CAB file

name in a given folder (in this case BASE4.CAB), forces EXTRACT.EXE to search

all CABs in the same directory for the file you specify.

Change the cd-rom drive letter if different on your system.

Now move VCOMM.VXD to C:\Windows\System\Vmm32, and reboot.

From now on Win98 will use the individual VXD instead of the one contained in

Vmm32.vxd, because if the same VXD loads twice, the second instance (in this

case the one in C:\Windows\System\Vmm32) intercepts all the calls to that

particular VXD.

Alternatively you can edit System.ini (located in your Windows folder) using

Notepad, and add an entry for the VXD you know creates "problems", under the

[386enh] section. Example:

device=vcomm.vxd

VXDs known to generate error messages more frequently are: configmg.vxd,

ntkern.vxd, vcomm.vxd, vdd.vxd, vdmad.vxd, vflatd.vxd and vmouse.vxd.

You can also check which VXDs are used in Vmm32.vxd on your Win98 computer by

running Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager tab -> Your device name ->

Driver tab -> Driver File Details button, and look for all drivers that have

VMM32 in parenthesis after their filenames. Example:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VCOMM.VXD (VMM32)

Check all items on your Device Manager list for similar drivers and write down

their names. Extract them to C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 and then reboot.

Now go back into Device Manager, and check again for the same drivers. You'll

notice that all (VMM32) instances after the driver filenames are gone.

UPDATES:

- Run VXD_FIX.BAT [27 KB, free] to copy all necessary VXD files from the

Win98/98 SE(U) Setup cd-rom to your C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 folder:

http://www.mcs.net/~revolutn/win98_vxd_fix.htm

- See this guide for recreating VMM32.VXD:

http://windows-help.net/techfiles/vmm32.html

CLEAN DEFRAG

Defragmenting all your hard drives/partitions with no overhead (background

programs running or TSRs/VXDs loaded) can be done three ways:

1. Change to the \Tools\Mtsutil folder on your Win98 Setup cd-rom, and

right-click on Defrag.inf. Select Install. This will create a one-time entry

(DEFRAG.EXE /ALL) under this Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce

Defrag will start automatically next time you boot, before the login prompt,

therefore before any other program loads.

2. This one looks more like a bug fix... :)

"Disable the screen saver automatically every time before Defrag starts.

See the "Correct Instructions for Disabling Screen Saver During Defrag.exe"

MSKB page for details:"

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q229/0/57.asp

3. "If defrag keeps resetting due to programs running in the background, start

up in MS-DOS Mode (press F8 during the boot sequence), edit System.ini with

Notepad or Sysedit, and change the shell= entry under the [boot] section from

Explorer.exe to Defrag.exe.

This will ensure that Defrag is the only process to load instead of all your

other programs.

You will have to change it back after defragging of course!"

TIP:

You don't need to restart or reboot Windows after modifying the shell= line.

Just press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Del -> highlight Explorer (or the name of your

custom shell executable) -> click End Task -> click No at the Shut down screen

-> click End Task again. The new shell specified in System.ini will reload

presto. :)

NOTES: - Read the "SUPER DEFRAG" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included) for more

Defrag tips.

- Read this comment about an UNDOCUMENTED Windows 98 Defrag limitation

(BUG!) with FAT32 partitions larger than 8 GB:

http://www.voodooextreme.com/hw/Features/HardwarePimps/#sept2-1

PHANTOM DESKBAR

When you click the Start button, scroll down to Settings, then hold the Ctrl

key and click "Taskbar & Start Menu...", a new tab shows up in the Taskbar

Properties: "Deskbar Options". If you click on this tab, there are no

functions available and all buttons are grayed out, so I called it the

"phantom Deskbar". Hmmm... Strange...

You can make the "Deskbar" appear also if you hold down the Ctrl key while

right-clicking somewhere on an empty spot on the raised Taskbar, NOT in the

sunken Tray area.

Take a peek at the hidden Deskbar Options tab:

http://members.aol.com/fencepaint/deskbar.htm

UPDATES:

1. "I've known about the Phantom Deskbar for a while now, but it's not widely

known since it is undocumented.

The Deskbar is not going to work regardless of what the user does, because

there is no code for it to use.

A deskbar is where you take a set of icons from the taskbar (such as the

Win98/IE4/IE5 default for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express etc) and you

drag the little vertical line on the left side of the icons on that bar up

onto your desktop or to the side or bottom of your screen, depending on where

the original taskbar is situated on your screen. That's the same thing as a

deskbar, and you'll notice a small window will come up with the icons in it

which you dragged and dropped elsewhere on your desktop from the taskbar.

The Phantom Deskbar appears on Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 as well. It may

also affect Windows 95 if Internet Explorer 4.0 or 5.0 is installed.

Using the Phantom Deskbar trick may sometimes lock up the computer."

This update courtesy of CptSiskoX (CptSiskoX@flashmail.com).

2. "The Deskbar Options tab is generated from SHDOCVW.DLL. Take a look at:

http://www.tir.com/~putney/article/art510.html

regarding the Deskbar Options that apparently don't exist.

There are a few references to Deskbar in the Registry - mainly "Clsids" in

HKCR and HKLM. But there are strings to it under:

HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Shell Extensions/Approved"

This update courtesy of Ojatex (Ojatex@aol.com).

3. And this one comes directly from the "horse's mouth" (anonymous source):

"... I have spoken with the "top of the engineering chain" and here are the

results. The deskbar options tab was a part of the operating system that was

being considered during the beta stages. For unknown reasons, this tab was

not taken out of the final code. However, the tab has no meaning or

functionality..."

Problem solved. :)

WIN98 PHANTOM DRIVE BUG  

What, another Win98 BUG? Yeap! And this one is NOT documented ANYWHERE. At

least not yet. :)

Here we go...

I was reading some info on the Internet about the Config.sys BUFFERS setting.

To learn about the "BUFFERS", what they do, and how to maximize your system's

performance by tweaking your Config.sys BUFFERS line, read:

- the CONFIG.TXT file, installed in your Windows 98 folder,

- the BUFFERS related topics in MEMORY.TXT and EMM386.TXT (both included),

- the "DOUBLE BUFFER" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).

THE BUG:

So one sunny day I tried the double-buffer setting on my Config.sys BUFFERS

line to improve the read-ahead disk cache performance, but WITHOUT adding a

line for the DBLBUFF.SYS driver. I changed it to read:

BUFFERS=12,6

instead of:

BUFFERS=12,0

I also need to mention that I use SMARTDRV (Microsoft MS-DOS mode disk cache

driver) configured to cache reads and writes on ALL my drives (floppy, hard

and cd-rom), to speedup the loading of drivers and TSRs in my startup files

and to decrease Windows GUI loading time. My Autoexec.bat Smartdrv line (note

that Win98 is installed in C:\W95 on my system):

C:\W95\SMARTDRV.EXE 6144 16 A+ B- C+ D+ E+ F+ G /N

And I also use MSCDEX (MicroSoft Compact Disk EXtensions driver) to access my

cd-rom drive in native MS-DOS mode, outside Windows. My Autoexec.bat Mscdex

line:

LOADHIGH=C:\W95\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:IDECDROM /M:20 /E

Well, after rebooting in Win98 GUI, I have noticed a new drive icon (H) was

installed in Explorer and File Manager. And this new "phantom" drive was the

identical "twin" of my E drive (which is actually the second FAT16 partition on

my primary boot drive). Also, in the Control Panel -> System -> Performance

tab, a new:

"Drive E is using MS-DOS compatibility mode file system"

alert message appeared. Hmmm...

And in my Windows folder, a new file, IOS.LOG, was generated upon Win98 GUI

startup. When I opened it in Notepad for viewing, guess what? It says:

"Unit number 04 going through real mode drivers."

and further below:

"TSR Name: SMARTDRV

Hardware Interrupt Hook Bit Map: 00000003

Hooks: Int 13

Hooks: unit number: 00 -> Drive A

Hooks: unit number: 01 -> Drive C

Hooks: unit number: 02 -> Drive D

Hooks: unit number: 03 -> Drive E = Unit number 04 !

Hooks: unit number: 04 -> Drive F

Hooks: unit number: 05" -> Drive G

Then if I run:

SMARTDRV /S

from a DOS prompt, it's obvious that "Unit number 04" above corresponds to

drive E (see above) if you count down the list begining with number 01 (drive

A), also shown on Smartdrv's status screen:

"Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02

Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp.

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each

There have been 1,360 cache hits

and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes

Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

Disk Caching Status

drive read cache write cache buffering

-------------------------------------------------

A: yes yes no

C: yes yes no

D: yes yes no

E: yes yes no = Unit number 04 !

F: yes yes no

G: yes no no

Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

Also if I enable the DoubleBuffer=2 line under my Msdos.sys's [Options] section, without adding a line in my Config.sys for double buffering like: DEVICE=C:\W95\DBLBUFF.SYS

or: DEVICE=C:\W95\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER

the SMARTDRV /S status screen looks like this:

"Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02 Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp.

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each

There have been 1,360 cache hits and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes

Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

Disk Caching Status

drive read cache write cache buffering

-------------------------------------------------

A: yes yes no

C: yes yes yes

D: yes yes yes

E: yes yes yes

F: yes yes yes

G: yes no no

Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

This means double buffering is enabled at all times for all hard drives (floppy and cd-rom drives canNOT be double-buffered). But if I keep the DoubleBuffer=2 Msdos.sys line, and I also add a double buffer command in my Config.sys, the SMARTDRV /S display changes as shown below, similar to having the line DoubleBuffer=1 in my Msdos.sys, with or without a DBLBUFF.SYS line in Config.sys:

"Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02 Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp.

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each There have been 1,360 cache hits and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes

Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

drive read cache write cache buffering

-------------------------------------------------

A: yes yes no

C: yes yes no

D: yes yes --

E: yes yes no

F: yes yes no

G: yes no no

Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

This means double buffering is enabled only if needed on the D drive (my only drive over 8 GB partitioned with FAT32).

It doesn't matter if Smartdrv is loaded or not in Autoxec.bat, all these "variations" do NOT influence the weird way Windows 98 (noticed also in Win95 B/C OSR2) "reacts" to having the double buffering enabled. Although this implies that I keep the BUFFERS=12,6 line "active" in my Config.sys throughout all these tests, without which double buffering is NOT possible, and I also must have a Config.sys LASTDRIVE=H line, to show at least 1 drive letter above the number of physical drives/partitions on my system, even if the DoubleBuffer Msdos.sys line and/or the Config.sys DBLBUFF.SYS command are present or not. To my knowledge, Win9x doesn't provide a 32-bit protected mode driver counterpart for double buffering, which can be enabled ONLY in MS-DOS modes. The MSDOS.SYS "DoubleBuffer=" line valid parameters:

- 0 = completely disable double buffering on ALL drives;

- 1 = enable double buffering ONLY on selected hard drives (IDE/ATA large, over 8 GB, especially if partitioned with the FAT32 standard, or SCSI/non-standard ESDI), ONLY if needed;

- 2 = enable double buffering AT ALL TIMES on ALL hard drives.

To edit MSDOS.SYS (mandatory for Win9x proper operation), a hidden, read-only, system file located in C:\ root, you can use my DOS batch file (SYS95.BAT) included here.

Hmmm... Strange, because I don't recall making any changes to my system or adding any hardware devices lately.

Note that the "phantom drive BUG" is NOT present in native/real/true MS-DOS mode, outside the Windows GUI!

I have two EIDE UltraDMA 33 MB/sec hard drives installed, both connected to the motherboard's primary IDE controller (Megatrends HX83 Pentium class main board):

- a Maxtor DiamondMax 2880 UltraDMA 5.7 GB (master) and

- a Maxtor DiamondMax 2160 UltraDMA 8.4 GB (slave).

My "master" drive has three FAT16 partitions:

- C: 2 GB

- E: 2 GB and

- F: 1.6 GB.

My "slave" drive has a single FAT32 partition: D: 8 GB. I also have an IDE/ATAPI internal NEC 8x cd-rom drive set as drive G, connected as master to the secondary motherboard IDE interface. My A drive is a plain Teac 3.5" (1.44 MB) internal floppy drive, and I don't have a secondary floppy drive installed. Oh, and I have no SCSI devices on my system.

I have checked all my drive cables for proper connection (and even replaced the hard drives IDE cable with a new one) just to make sure the hardware works OK.

Nothing out of the ordinary so far. I have thoroughly checked the entire Device Manager list in Win98's System applet, available from the Control Panel, to make sure there are NO red or yellow marks, which might indicate an incompatibility by 2 different devices using the same IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest line), hex Base Address (BA) or DMA (Direct Memory Access) channel, which usually results in a hardware conflict, with unexpected consequences: system crashes, or even data loss. Ouch! Also, I don't have the Drvspace driver installed, and I deleted all Drvspace files and DBLBUFF.SYS right after I first installed Win98.

Well, why do you think I got the "new" drive letter after resetting the BUFFERS to 12,6? Because Win98 automatically "thinks" that a drive in the system needs double buffering enabled if the second Config.sys BUFFERS number is above zero, and if the "DoubleBuffer" line in Msdos.sys does not have a value of 0 (which disables it), Win98 OS tries to load the double buffering device (default) at bootup (DBLBUFF.SYS). But even if my Msdos.sys DoubleBuffer line reads 0 (to eliminate the possibility of the OS loading DBLBUFF.SYS by "accident"), Win98 still "created" a new "phantom" drive (H in this case).

THE FIX:

1. Limit the number of drives (on the LASTDRIVE line) available to your system to the actual number of physical drives/partitions installed in your computer, or...

2. Have your BUFFERS line's second number ALWAYS read zero. You can change/add your LASTDRIVE line in Config.sys to read (in this case): LASTDRIVE=G

If the LASTDRIVE line is not present in your Config.sys, Win9x sets it to Z, the maximum number of drives allowed on any PC being 26 (A to Z).

Because my machine has a total of 4 physical drives (1 floppy, 2 hard and 1 cd-rom), which have assigned a total of 7 drive letters (A to G), any additional letters on the LASTDRIVE line allow Win98 to add "phantom" drives IF the BUFFERS line's second number is ANYTHING above zero. Letter B is automatically assigned to the second floppy drive in any IBM PC/AT compatible BIOS, and cannot be reassigned to ANY other drive, even if such a floppy drive is not installed!

NOTE: I suspect that this "phantom drive BUG" can also be reproduced on Win95/OSR2 systems, but I haven't tried it yet.

By sending your Win98 registration information this way, you are allowing Microsoft to store your personal data and computer specs, including the 25 digit product registration code displayed on your Win98 setup cd-rom back sleeve, on its servers for future reference. Talk about privacy!

NOTE: You do NOT need to do this if you ALREADY registered your copy of Win98 with Microsoft!

But if you haven't registered your Win98 cd-rom yet, you CAN download ANY software from the Microsoft Windows 98 Update site, WITHOUT being prompted to register, by applying this simple Registry "fix". Use Notepad to create a Registration (.REG) file, and save it as REGUSER.REG. Cut & paste EXACTLY the lines below into REGUSER.REG:

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

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion]

"RegDone"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Welcome\RegWiz]

"@"="1"

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

Close Notepad. Now open Explorer or File Manager and double-click on REGUSER.REG to merge (register) this information into your Registry. Then run the Win98 Update Wizard tool from the Start button -> Windows Update icon, and start downloading any Win98 components you want. You won't be prompted to register anymore. :)

If you have accidentally misplaced or lost your Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM (or your Win98 Product Key code), there is still a way to (re)install Win98 on your computer, without knowing the 25 digit Product Key. This method applies to ALL Windows 98 Gold (final) releases: Full, OEM and Upgrade.

WARNING:

This workaround requires you to modify the copyrighted code of a file by using DEBUG. Be aware that this procedure is illegal in the United States and Canada, and voids your Microsoft warranty! Do it at your own risk!

NECESSARY STEPS:

1. First copy the entire \Win98 folder from your Windows 98 Setup cd-rom to a temporary directory on your hard disk, provided you have enough room (170 MB).

2. Use the DOS based EXTRACT.EXE tool (located on your Setup cd-rom in \Win98) to copy PIDGEN.DLL to a directory on your hard drive, by running this command from any DOS prompt:

EXTRACT D:\WIN98\PRECOPY1.CAB PIDGEN.DLL

I presumed that D is your cd-rom drive letter. Change if different on your machine.

3. Run DEBUG (filename DEBUG.EXE, located in C:\Windows\Command) from any DOS prompt to modify PIDGEN.DLL, by typing the command lines below EXACTLY as shown (case insensitive), including the SPACES, and then pressing the Enter key after EACH line:

DEBUG drive:\folder\PIDGEN.DLL

E 1ED7

E 1EDF

W

Q

Typing "E 1ED7" and respectively "E 1EDF" above (no quotes) will generate two

new DEBUG lines:

xxxx:1ED7 39. 8B

and respectively:

xxxx:1EDF 39. 8B

Press Enter after each one.

NOTE: If you have a hex editor, you can patch the offset 1DD7h and 1DDFh from bytecode 39h to bytecode 8Bh.

No further DEBUG segment adjustments are necessary, because Pidgen.dll is less than 64 KB in size.

The "W" line (no quotes) tells DEBUG to write the changes to the file (generates a message like: "writing xxxx bytes"), and then "Q" quits (exits) the command line debugger, returning to the DOS prompt.

4. Now run Setup from the folder where you copied the Win98 installation files. When prompted to type the serial number of the Product Key, type any letters or numbers except all zeroes. If everything goes well, your modified Pidgen.dll file will be used instead of the original one from Precopy1.cab.

Also, you will not be asked to insert a "proof of upgrade" disk if you are installing the Win98 Upgrade release, and if there is no older Windows/WfWG installation found on any of your hard disks/partitions:

- Windows/WfWG 3.xx setup floppies, or

- Win95/OSR2.x setup cd-rom. Win98 Setup searches specifically for these

Win95 setup files: WINSETUP.BIN, PRECOPYx.CAB and WIN_95xx.CAB.

This tip should work with Win98 NEW installs and REinstalls as well. If you are trying to (re)install the Win98 OEM (full) release, you might need to perform a few extra steps:

5. When Setup is almost completed, your computer will reboot.

6. When the Win98 GUI comes up, it will ask for the Product ID.

7. Cancel and shut down Windows.

8. Reboot and hit F8 (or Ctrl) at the "Starting Windows 98..." screen.

9. The MS-DOS mode Startup Menu will show up. Select "Safe mode" (option 3).

10. When the Safe mode GUI comes up, click the Start button, click Run, type Regedit, and press Enter.

11. Highlight the "ProductId" string, found under this Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

12. In the right hand pane, double-click on "ProductId".

13. Typical format of Win98 "ProductId" string: XXXXX-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXX

Type in any characters (letters and/or numbers), only don't type 25 zeroes for the entire serial number!

14. Close Regedit.

15. Reboot again in Normal mode to complete the install. Done.

NOTE: For more Win98 installation workarounds, read these topics:

- "98 INSTALL BLUES" (included) and

This is an(other) undocumented BUG in Windows 98 (retail/OEM releases). In order to FIX it, it requires you to modify 2 system information (.INF) files: MSHDC.INF and DISKDRV.INF, located in your C:\Windows\Inf folder (default).

Therefore BACK THEM UP FIRST, as you should also BACKUP your Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT, found in your Windows folder, BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

IMPORTANT: You need your Pentium class (or better) chipset and motherboard Bus Master IDE/EIDE controller to support IDE drive transfers at least for DMA Mode 1 (PI/O Mode 4 at 16 MB/sec) or better, DMA Mode 3 (PI/O Mode 5, UltraDMA at 33 MB/sec) for this tweak to work properly! Check your hardware specs and your BIOS/CMOS settings to see which standards are supported by your machine.

THE BUG: On some Win98 computers using:

- older motherboards with built-in IDE/EIDE controllers or/and BIOSes, not supporting all newer PI/O, DMA and/or UltraDMA standards, or

- add-in IDE/EIDE controller cards (PCI) that use non-standard hardware Interrupts (IRQs) and/or Base Addresses (BA), or

- older/generic IDE/EIDE hard drives (with firmware problems), which may not be properly recognized/configured by the BIOS, when you try to enable the DMA hard drive/cd-rom/dvd setting under: Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> Properties -> Settings tab -> DMA check box, you may not notice an increase in hard disk/cd-rom/dvd access speed, or the DMA check box is grayed out (unavailable), unless you apply the FIX detailed below.

ADVANTAGES: The DMA/UDMA disk setting makes a difference mainly when you perform certain tasks on your system, like accessing large (multimedia: video, audio) files, or create/copy/move/delete large files on the same hard disk/partition or between different hard drives/partitions.

This means that the DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller on your motherboard takes over the handling of hard disk reads and writes, relieving the processor of these time consuming tasks, which would require extra CPU cycles, so your processor can proceed with other operations at the same time, thus making multitasking work smoother and speed up disk access noticeably.

THE FIX: Edit the MSHDC.INF and the DISKDRV.INF files (found by default in your C:\Windows\Inf folder) using Notepad. C:\Windows\Inf is a hidden folder, so it is "invisible" to Explorer, if you don't check the "Show all files" box under: Explorer -> View -> Folder Options -> View tab -> Hidden files list -> Show all files box.

Now scroll down to the MSHDC.INF's [ESDI_AddReg] section, and modify (or create if not present) these 2 lines below to read:

HKR,,IDEDMADrive0,3,01

HKR,,IDEDMADrive1,3,01

Now edit your DISKDRV.INF file and scroll down to the [DiskReg] section.

Add/change the same 2 lines above. This applies to systems with 2 hard drives (or 1 hard drive and 1 IDE/ATAPI internal cd-rom drive) installed. If you have 3 or 4 IDE/EIDE hard drives in your computer, and/or an IDE/ATAPI compliant cd-rom drive (the motherboard IDE controller supports a maximum of 4 IDE/EIDE drives), add 2 more lines under the same headers shown above, in both MSHDC.INF and DISKDRV.INF:

HKR,,IDEDMADrive2,3,01

HKR,,IDEDMADrive3,3,01

NOTE: Do NOT delete or modify ANYTHING else in these files!

Now save these files in a different folder, and then open Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Disk drives and remove ALL items under "Hard disk controllers" AND all hard drives under "Disk drives" (ONLY the hard drives, NOT the floppy/removable drives). Reboot your system ONLY after removing ALL above items.

When Win98 starts again, the Add Hardware Wizard will find the new hardware devices and prompt you to install the appropriate drivers. Browse to the location of your modified .INF files (NOT to the C:\Windows\Inf folder, which is invisible to your system at this point anyway). The existing disk drive controllers specified in your modified MSHDC.INF will be installed. Insert your Win98 setup cd-rom in your cd-rom drive, and then browse to the \Win98 folder on the cd-rom for driver extraction (if prompted to do so). Restart your machine again when prompted so the changes can take effect. Now Defrag(ment) ALL your hard drives/partitions with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" option enabled.

Then use a disk benchmark tool (to compare results before AND after making these changes) for reliable disk testing. A good example (ONLY for raw disk subsystem access testing, NOT real world benchmarking) is WinTune 98 provided

UPDATE: Read these Win98 Bus Master DMA MSKB articles:

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 (final retail/OEM releases) lost some of the features built into Windows 95/OSR2 systems. Here are just a few examples:

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 3^rd 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" or/and "Active Desktop enabled" boxes in Win98's version of TweakUI IE4 tab.

The new TweakUI "power toy" is located on your Win98 setup cd-rom in the \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy subfolder. 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 and Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3/4/5 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/IE4/IE5'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.

UPDATES:

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"! :(

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:

- Ethernet networks: MTU = 1500

- SLIP servers: MTU = 1006

- PPP protocol (Internet TCP/IP): MTU = 576.

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's 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!

A. 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.

B. 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's 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 and 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 and 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 values (Win95 users), and many other important Win98/95 Registry settings (DefaultRcvWindow, DefaultTTL, cachesize, COMBoostTime etc) to optimize your Internet/AOL connection, please read these related topics, also included:

- "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2" (included) : only Win98 users;

- "AOL MAXMTU REVISITED" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;

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 98/95 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.

Windows 98 comes with a long awaited tool (SCANREGW.EXE, located in your Windows 98 folder) that performs daily automatic vital backups of the

Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT, and System files: SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI.

This is Win98's 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

In the right hand pane, look for the "ScanRegistry" string, which has this default value: "C:\Windows\Scanregw.exe /autorun"

You do NOT need to alter this line, just make sure it's present! This means Scanregw makes a new backup set upon the first Win98 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 Win98 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:

- Do not allow the creation of new backups: Backup=0

Default is 1 (allows the creation of new backups).

- Skip the Registry automatic optimization: Optimize=0

Default is 1 (allows the Registry automatic optimization).

If Optimize=1, Scanregw compacts the Registry files automatically (default)

if they contain more than 500 KB of empty space (unused blank gaps).

- Increase/decrease the number of daily backups, by modifying this line:

MaxBackupCopies=10

Default is 5, maximum allowed is 99.

- Change the backup directory/folder where the .CAB files are held:

BackupDirectory=D:\Backup98

Default backup folder is C:\Windows\Sysbckup.

- Have Scanregw add other System Files to the daily .CAB backups, by using the following System Folder codes on separate "Files=" lines:

10 = windir (default is C:\Windows)

11 = system dir (default is C:\Windows\System)

30 = boot dir (default is C:\)

31 = boot host dir (deafult is C:\)

The maximum number of additional files you can add is 16 for a total of 20.

Example: to add your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, CONTROL.INI and WINFILE.INI to the daily backups, add/modify these lines to read:

Files=30,AUTOEXEC.BAT,CONFIG.SYS

Files=10,CONTROL.INI,WINFILE.INI

Default is to backup only SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT, SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI.

Directory code and filenames are separated by a comma (,). Restart Windows when you're done so the new settings can take effect. If you also use the true MS-DOS mode (like I do), you can access most of these Win98 backup features by running the Scanregw DOS counterpart, filename SCANREG.EXE (located in C:\Windows\Command). 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:

- /BACKUP = Creates a new backup .CAB file manually.

The .CAB files created by SCANREG are uncompressed. To view the last five backup CABs, run SCANREG and select "View Backups" from the summary screen.

- /COMMENT = Adds a comment to the CAB while backing up.

Example: run: SCANREG /BACKUP "/COMMENT=My 7-27-98 Win98 Backup"

If you choose to view your recent backups (see above), the text string after the equal sign will be displayed as comment. The maximum text length is 29 characters (text above this limit is truncated).

- /FIX = Rebuilds the Registry.

Used automatically if Scanreg detecs ANY Registry problems or corruption, that may prevent Win98 from functioning properly.

Example: use it if you don't have any valid Registry backups.

This switch checks and rebuilds the Registry structure NOT its contents, therefore certain invalid Registry entries may NOT be fixed this way!

- /OPT = Compacts (shrinks) the Registry files.

Example: use it after uninstalling an application from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs menu, because certain deleted Registry keys, entries or strings do NOT free unused empty space in the Registry files. SCANREG /FIX performs a similar job. SCANREG /OPT is used automatically if there are more than 500 KB of wasted/blank space within the Registry.

- /RESTORE = Restores the Registry using the most recent backup .CAB.

Example: use it if your Registry becomes corrupted, or if you canNOT start Win98 in normal GUI mode.

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).

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:

- Megatrends HX83 motherboard (AMI Flash BIOS upgraded),

- Intel Triton II HX Pentium chipset,

- Intel Pentium 233 MHz MMX CPU,

- 64 MB EDO memory,

- Maxtor 5.6 GB UDMA drive,

- Maxtor 8.4 GB UDMA drive,

- USR Winmodem 56kbps V.90/x2 modem/fax,

- ATI Graphics Pro Turbo 4 MB VRAM PCI video,

- Diamond Monster Voodoo 3D PCI video,

- Creative Labs AWE64 Gold ISA sound,

- Diamond Monster Sound 3D PCI sound,

- NEC 8x internal IDE/ATAPI cd-rom,

- SIIG 400 W power supply.

NOTES:

1. BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM + REGISTRY FILES FIRST!

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.

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.

One sunny day [long after June 25th '98 :-)], 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 means war!

NOTE: Read the "DOS NOW!" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT 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: filename 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 start. For more tweaks click the Advanced button. Here is actually where I wanted to get. To restore the proper 98 shut down function I had to check the "Disable fast shut down" box. 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 in the right hand pane to read 0 (Win98's default value is 1).

NOTE: Any changes made to these settings require a reboot!

My "home-made" PC specs:

- Megatrends HX83 motherboard (AMI Flash BIOS upgraded),

- Intel Triton II HX Pentium chipset,

- Intel Pentium 233MHz MMX CPU,

- 64MB EDO memory,

- new Maxtor 5.6GB UDMA drive,

- Maxtor 8.4GB UDMA drive,

- new USR Winmodem 56kbps V.90/x2 modem/fax,

- ATI Graphics Pro Turbo 4MB VRAM PCI video,

- Diamond Monster Voodoo 3D PCI video,

- Creative Labs AWE64 Gold ISA sound,

- Diamond Monster Sound 3D PCI sound,

- NEC 8x internal IDE/ATAPI cd-rom,

- new SIIG 400W power supply.

As you have noticed, my machine components are not that old, and still, Win98 canNOT shut it down properly if the "fast shut down" feature is enabled.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Do NOT install this first release of Windows 98 if your computer components are older than 12 months, wait until Microsoft will release the (first) fix: Win98 Service Pack 1 (free), Also, 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/BBS/FTP sites. Other Windows 98 system tools (some new, some "inherited" from Win95) you might consider using to keep your system in top shape:

1. In your Windows 98 folder:

- ASD.EXE = Automatic Skip Driver

- CLEANMGR.EXE = Disk Space Cleanup Manager

- CVT1.EXE = FAT32 Drive Converter tool

- DEFRAG.EXE = Disk Defragmenter (includes application optimizer)

- DRWATSON.EXE = Dr. Watson Diagnostic tool

- HWINFO.EXE = Hardware Information (saves your hardware info on disk)

- REGEDIT.EXE = Registry Editor

- RSRCMTR.EXE = Resource Meter

- SCANDSKW.EXE = Scan Disk

- SCANREGW.EXE = Registry Checker

- SIGVERIF.EXE = Signature Verification tool

- SMTIDY.EXE = Tidy Start Menu tool (cleanup Start Menu)

- SYSMON.EXE = System Monitor

- TASKMAN.EXE = Task Manager

- TUNEUP.EXE = Maintenance Wizard

- VCMUI.EXE = Version Conflict Manager

- WINIPCFG.EXE = TCP/IP Configuration tool

- WINPOPUP.EXE = WinPopup network messaging tool

- WINREP.EXE = Problem Report tool (if you contact Microsoft support)

- WINVER.EXE = Windows Version

- WSCRIPT.EXE = Windows Scripting Host

- WUPDMGR.EXE = Update Manager (Internet connection required)

2. In your \Windows\System subfolder:

- IESHWIZ.EXE = Customize Folder tool

- INTERNAT.EXE = Keyboard Language Indicator Applet

- MKCOMPAT.EXE = Make Compatible App tool

- MSCONFIG.EXE = System Configuration tool

- MSTASK.EXE = Task Scheduler

- SFC.EXE = System File Checker

- SYSEDIT.EXE = System Editor tool (edit: Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,

System.ini, Win.ini)

- 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 cd-rom, 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:

 This procedure is supposed to work for installing ANY final (Gold) 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."

1. Load your MS-DOS mode cd-rom driver in your Config.sys, load MSCDEX.EXE in your Autoexec.bat (edit them with Notepad in Windows or Edit.com in DOS) and then reboot.

Examples:

- Config.sys cd-rom driver line (replace CDROM.SYS with your MS-DOS mode cd-rom driver):

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

- Autoexec.bat MSCDEX line: MSCDEX /D:MYCDROM

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 begining 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, using EDIT.COM, the DOS mode text file editor. 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 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 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 95/3.xx Setup CD-ROM/floppies anymore when installing the Win98 upgrade.

* MUST READ!:

- The "WIN98: NO CODE INSTALL!" topic, to learn how to install Win98 without a Product Key code.

- The "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included), to learn about using alternative (smaller memory footprint) CD-ROM DOS mode drivers in your Autoexec.bat, especially if you are using older CD-ROM based MS-DOS applications/games that NEED to run from the true/native/real MS-DOS mode.

 WHERE IS LOGO.SYS?

 If you looked in the root folder of your Win98 boot drive (C:\), you have noticed that the Logo.sys file (known as the bootup or startup logo file to Win95/OSR2 users) is not there anymore. In fact the Win98's logo is built into IO.SYS, a read-only, hidden, system file, located in C:\ root. 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], and have it displayed next time you boot into Win98. Logo.sys must be a 320x400 pixels, 256 colors, RGB encoded Windows bitmap, in .BMP format. File size doesn't matter (it is minimum 129,078 Bytes for static logos, animated logos being a little bigger, because they also contain the scrolling colors code). To have Win98 OS display a logo at startup, just edit MSDOS.SYS (another C:\ root read-only, hidden, system file, and 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 need to restore its original attributes: ATTRIB +H +R +S C:\MSDOS.SYS Better, to perform all above operations with a single mouse (double)-click, run SYS95.BAT (included here). The only time you'll see a Logo.sys file in C:\ root is before you boot into Win98 for the first time, right after the installation is complete. It says: "Getting ready to run Windows for the first time". Filename Sulogo.sys, located in \Win98\Win98_46.cab, on your Win98 Setup cd-rom. To extract it to C:\ root (and see it next time upon boot) from your Win98 cd-rom, run these DOS commands (replace the cd-rom drive letter if different on your computer):

C:

CD\

EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB SULOGO.SYS

Reboot when done.

Read also the "COMPLETE MSDOS.SYS REFERENCE" topic in MYTIPS95 (included), to learn how to master Msdos.sys parameters, and boot into Win98 OS the way you want.