Windows 98 Tips and Tricks
By Ed Ellers

Here's a collection of easy-to-use tips on how to make Windows 98 work better for you. All of these hints have been checked on the released version of Windows 98; some of them may also apply to Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 or later and/or to Internet Explorer 4 on any release of Windows 95, because Windows 98 includes all the enhancements included in IE4 and all the service releases of Windows 95.

Always Be Prepared
When you install Windows 98, be sure to create a Startup Disk when prompted. The new Startup Disk includes drivers for nearly all ATAPI (so-called "IDE") CD-ROM drives and for SCSI drives using certain Adaptec or Mylex/BusLogic host adapters, but because some drives (such as certain CD-Recordable drives and older CD-ROM drives) and other SCSI host adapters may not be compatible it's a good idea to test your Startup Disk to find out if it will work with your drive.

If the included drivers won't work, edit the CONFIG.SYS file on the Startup Disk and take the following lines out of the [CD] section:

device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001

device=btdosm.sys

device=flashpt.sys

device=btcdrom.sys /D:mscd001

device=aspi2dos.sys

device=aspi8dos.sys

device=aspi4dos.sys

device=aspi8u2.sys

device=aspicd.sys /D:mscd001

Replace them with the device driver line from the CONFIG.SYS file on your hard disk, and copy that device driver to the Startup Disk. (If you have a SCSI CD-ROM drive you'll probably have two device driver lines, one for an ASPI driver and one for the CD-ROM drive itself.)  Be sure to change the specified name of the CD-ROM drive to MSCD001.

The Windows 98 CD also includes a program that you can run (even on another PC) to create a boot disk; while this doesn't have as many utilities as the Startup Disk, it does have CD-ROM support.  Switch to the \TOOLS\MTSUTIL\FAT32EBD directory and type FAT32EBD [enter].

Trimming The FAT
Windows 98 includes a new file system called FAT32 that lets you have very large hard disk volumes and still have small cluster sizes that waste very little disk space. (On a 1 Gb drive I got 150 Mb more usable space with FAT32 than with FAT16.)  This was included with OEM Service Releases 2.0 and later of Windows 95, but there was no supported way of converting FAT16 volumes to FAT32 because of concerns about data loss.  While FAT32 didn't really improve performance in Windows 95 OSR2 (and some people have reported a very minor drop in performance), Windows 98's new memory management techniques work best on a FAT32 partition.

You'll find the FAT32 converter in the Accessories section under System Tools. While it's always best to back up your data before running a conversion like this, the converter – while rather slow – is very safe to use; it builds the new FAT32 file system without disturbing the FAT16 file system you had, then makes one change to a single sector to activate the new file system.  If anything goes sour during the process, you'll still have a good FAT16 file system (with a lot of lost clusters that can be safely discarded) and you can try again later.

Keep in mind that disk utilities, if they operate directly on the disk, will have to be upgraded to new versions that will work with FAT32.  Version 3 of The Norton Utilities for Windows 95, and Gibson Research's SpinRite 5, are two well-known products that do work with FAT32. (If you have Norton Utilities version 3 – whether you intend to use FAT32 or not – be sure to use LiveUpdate to get the latest patches, including one that upgrades Speed Disk to take advantage of Windows 98's application launch enhancements.

Enabling DMA
Windows 98 includes a "direct memory access" driver for EIDE hard disks and ATAPI CD-ROM drives that works with all but the earliest Intel Pentium chip sets and those used in Pentium Pro, Pentium II and Celeron systems. If you right-click My Computer, select Properties and click the Device Manager tab, you can click the + signs for the CDROM and Disk drives categories, then double-click the drive entries to bring up properties for each drive. If the drive is capable of using direct memory access (also known as bus mastering) you'll see a check box for DMA; checking it will enable this feature.  (One warning: if you've set the disk access mode manually in CMOS setup, make sure it is set no higher than Mode 2 before turning on DMA.)

You probably won't see a difference in disk transfer rates on benchmark programs; the advantage of DMA is that it transfers selected sectors between the hard disk and RAM without passing through the processor, so it can concentrate on other tasks that may be going on at the same time.

Check For Printer Updates
When you install Windows 98 over a previous version of Windows it automatically updates your printer drivers, both those included with Windows and many that are supplied by printer manufacturers.  Windows 98 includes Microsoft-designed drivers for many more printers than were supported in Windows 95 – I counted 121 drivers for HP printers alone -- but if you're using a driver intended for a different printer model because you couldn't find the right driver when you got it, Windows 98 will usually install the newest driver for the "wrong" printer. One example is my Canon BJ-200ex printer; the best driver included with Windows 95 was for the BJ-200e, which didn't support some of the features of the 200ex.

After you install Windows 98, go to Settings on the Start menu, select Printers and look at the printer model(s) listed.  If you see a printer listed that is earlier than yours, double-click on Add Printer and follow the instructions to see if your printer is now supported by Windows 98.

Finding Unusual Device Drivers
If you can't find the right driver for your printer (or other device) in the usual place, the second place to look is the Windows Driver Library.  If you have Windows 98 on CD, use Explorer to get to the Drivers folder on the CD and double-click on Driver98; this opens the Windows Driver Library's help system, which not only has pointers to the drivers available on the CD but can link to the latest Hardware Compatibility List on Microsoft's Web site.

Tweak To Your Heart's Content
Microsoft has had a neat utility called Tweak UI since Windows 95 first came out that let you fiddle with a lot of settings to alter Windows' user interface; until now it wasn't officially supported and you had to download it from their Web site, but with Windows 98 it's included on the CD. Use Explorer to get to the \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy folder, right-click on the Tweakui.inf file and select Install; after you install it you'll find Tweak UI on the Control Panel.

Returning To Normalcy
Quite a few people (particularly users of Netscape's browsers) have indicated a desire to get rid of the Active Desktop and other user interface changes, because they prefer the Windows 95 user interface. While there's no reliable way to uninstall the Windows Desktop Update from Windows 98, there's also no need for such drastic action, because the important changes can be turned off while leaving the new Windows Explorer in place. Here's a list:

-To make Explorer work more like the Windows 95 version, open Explorer, go to View and select Folder Options, then check the "Classic style" option.

-To turn off the Quick Launch Bar (the icons that appear on the taskbar for Internet Explorer and other items), right-click on the taskbar, select Toolbars and uncheck Quick Launch.

-To disable the Active Desktop, start Tweak UI, click the IE4 tab and uncheck "Active Desktop enabled." 

-To take the Favorites list off the Start Menu, in the same area of Tweak UI uncheck "Show Favorites on Start Menu."

Explore Like An Expert
Old DOS hands (like me) often prefer to turn off the various things that Windows 95 and 98 do to hide the legacy of Windows, such as keeping many extensions out of sight.  Windows 95 did allow users to revert to older customs, and Windows 98 goes even further.

Start the Explorer, pull down View and select Folder Options as before, then click the View tab. You'll see a list of advanced settings that can be turned on or off.  My suggestion is to check "Display the full path in title bar," "Show file attributes in Detail View," "Allow all uppercase names," and "Show all files" under Hidden files. The "Allow all uppercase names" option is a new one that displays all capital letters for any file or directory that, for whatever reason, doesn't have a long file name entry.

Getting The Fax
Despite earlier reports, Windows 98 still includes the Microsoft Fax program and the Windows Messaging client that were included with Windows 95; they're included separately on the CD, and are intended for users upgrading from Windows 95 (or Windows for Workgroups) to use if their fax program becomes corrupted.

To install Windows Messaging and Microsoft Fax if they aren't already installed, first make sure that the Imaging and WordPad programs are installed; they include some of the system files that Microsoft Fax needs to work.  Select Run… and browse to the Tools\Oldwin95\Message\Us folder(or Intl if you're outside the U.S.), and run WMS.EXE. When it's installed, don't run it yet; instead run AWFAX.EXE in the same folder, and let it restart your system when it's done.  Now double-click on the Inbox to configure Windows Messaging and Microsoft Fax; most users will want to check the Microsoft Fax box and uncheck the one for Microsoft Mail.

If you have Microsoft Outlook 97 (or Office 97, which includes Outlook), or if you're on a corporate network and use the Microsoft Exchange client for e-mail, don't install WMS.EXE; just make sure that Outlook or the Exchange client is installed properly, then install AWFAX.EXE and you can use Microsoft Fax as an add-on. Microsoft does offer Outlook 98 as a free upgrade for Outlook 97, Office 97 and Exchange Server users, and since it includes Symantec's WinFax PRO Starter Edition you may want to use that instead of Microsoft Fax. (Until the end of June it's available to everyone for free download, or on CD for $9.95 in the U.S. or CDN $14.95 in Canada.  Details are at http://www.microsoft.com/outlook/outlook98/outlook98.asp.)

Realigning Office 97
One of the best improvements included only in Windows 98 is in the way it loads applications; if 32-bit programs are aligned in 4K segments in a certain way (as has been done with Windows 98's own files) they will load a lot faster than has been the case with Windows 95. Many, but not all, existing applications can be realigned to take advantage of this feature, but careful testing is needed to make sure a given program still works properly.  Microsoft is encouraging developers to realign future versions of their applications.

To take advantage of this feature Windows 98 includes a program that realigns Office 97 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Access) for you; this runs automatically if you upgrade from Windows 95 with Office applications installed, or can be run later if you install Office 97 (or add components) after Windows 98 is installed. This realignment process does introduce a complication because the Office 97 Service Release 1 installer tests to make sure the program files are intact, and won't recognize the realigned files.

If you have Office 97 installed on Windows 95: Before upgrading, get Service Release 1 (see http://www.microsoft.com/office/office/enhancements/sr1off97.asp for details) and install it.  When you upgrade to Windows 98, your patched programs will be realigned automatically.

If you don't have Office 97 installed: After you install Windows 98, you can install the Office 97 programs and Service Release 1. Then select Run… and type WALIGN (enter) to realign the patched files.

If you have Office 97, have upgraded to Windows 98 (or run WALIGN) and haven't installed Service Release 1, you'll need to uninstall and reinstall Office 97 to restore the non-aligned files before Service Release 1 can be installed.

Pinball Wizardry
Windows 98 includes updated versions of everything that was part of Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95…except the Pinball game.  Because of the risk of replacing Windows 98 files with the older Plus! versions,  Windows 98 is designed to refuse to run the Plus! install program. (It also won't run the install programs for older versions of Internet Explorer.)

If you want to play Pinball, there's a special installation file on the Windows 98 CD to help you. Use Explorer to get to the \Tools\Mtsutil folder and copy the Pinball.inf file to your hard disk.  Now load the Plus! CD and right-click on the Pinball.inf file in Explorer, then follow the instructions to install Pinball without disturbing anything.

Incidentally, the same folder has several other Inf files that can be used to fix various problems that a few users may have.  Details are in the Mtsutil.txt file; I'd suggest not installing any of these fixes unless you have one of the specific problems described in that text file.

Being Resourceful
As with Windows 95, the Windows 98 CD has a hypertext version of the Resource Kit book.  Use Explorer to get to the \Tools\Reskit\Help folder and double-click on Rk98book.chm.

Old DOS Stuff
The Windows 98 CD includes a few MS-DOS utilities that aren't installed automatically; they're in the \Tools\Oldmsdos directory. There aren't as many of these files as there were in the original release of Windows 95; some of the missing items include MemMaker, the memory management optimizer, and Interlink to let you transfer files between two computers.  (Incidentally, Interlink can read a FAT32 drive or partition on the host computer – the one running INTERSVR.EXE – but only if both computers use either Windows 98 or OEM Service Release 2 or later of Windows 95, and only if Windows is running on the guest computer.  If you only boot to a DOS prompt a FAT32 volume won't be readable.)

If you want the "missing" utilities, you can get them from the original Windows 95 CD (in the \Other\Oldmsdos folder), or download the set from http://support.microsoft.com/download/support/mslfiles/OLDDOS.EXE. 

Free Wavetable Synthesis (If You're Lucky)
There's a trend in the computer industry to replace the typical PC sound card with digital speakers and microphones that connect to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports found on many new PCs.  Since the digital speakers won't include synthesizers for playing MIDI files, Windows 98 includes a software wavetable synthesizer (designed with some elements from Roland) that works with audio output devices that have new drivers that follow the Win32 Driver Model.  (WDM drivers are designed, among other things, to work with both Windows 98 and future versions of Windows NT.)  The Windows 98 wavetable synthesizer works well with 100 MHz or faster Pentium-based systems, though its sound quality isn't as good as the better wavetable sound cards or standalone wavetable players like those from Yamaha.

Windows 98 includes WDM drivers for several sound cards (mostly those using ESS Technology chips), and if your sound card is supported by a WDM driver you can use the wavetable synthesizer.  The WDM drivers often aren't installed automatically, though.  Right-click on My Computer and select Properties, then click the Device Manager tab. Click the + next to "Sound, video and game controllers" and double-click on the sound card driver (if it doesn't already have a (WDM) in the name).  Click the Driver tab and click Update Driver; on the second screen select "Display a list of all the drivers…"  You should see a screen that looks like this:

Make sure that "Show compatible hardware" is selected. If you see both WDM and non-WDM drivers on the list, select the WDM driver and click Next to switch to the WDM driver.  Once the new driver is installed, restart your system; then open the Control Panel, open Multimedia, click the MIDI tab and select "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" in the box.

If you don't see a WDM driver option for your sound card, one may become available later from Microsoft or the sound card's manufacturer if the card is fairly recent.  If you have an old 8-bit sound card you may be out of luck. (Fortunately, 16-bit ISA sound cards are shockingly cheap these days – under $20 if you shop carefully – and even a PCI sound card with hardware wavetable synthesis can be had for $40-50, even less on occasion.)

Making the USB Connection
As I mentioned above, many newer PCs have ports for Universal Serial Bus devices – everything from scanners and digital cameras to printers, modems and even joysticks, keyboards and mice.  While relatively few USB devices are on the market now, many more are expected to be available over the next 12 months, since Microsoft's PC 98 specification calls for USB ports to replace conventional serial and parallel ports. Windows 98 provides full support for USB; Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 supported USB as well, but many people who bought new PCs last year didn't get USB support (since it required an added program that wasn't on the OSR2 CD).

If your system supports USB it should have two rectangular connectors, each about ½" by ¼", with a printed circuit tab inside each hole.  Many no-name "Baby-AT" desktop systems have USB capability but don't come with USB connectors; if you see a "Universal serial bus controller" category in Device Manager but don't see the USB ports on your computer, you may be able to get a connector plate from the dealer that sold you the system. There are now generic USB connectors that some computer stores are now selling for around $15, but they may not be compatible with all systems.