| Microsoft Windows 98 Registry Tips, Tweaks, Tricks, and Hacks... |
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| Backup Important Registry Files | |||
Don't even think about editing the Windows 95 Registry until
you've made an extra backup. Windows is supposed to recover from Registry mishaps, but why take chances? Copy the
hidden SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files into another directory for safe-keeping. |
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| Disable CD-ROM Auto-Run | |||
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| Stop the 'Click Here to Begin' Message | |||
This option will stop the 'Click Here to Begin' message from
periodically displaying next to the Start button. To set this option, go to: |
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| Free Your Desktop of Icons | |||
If you are a person that generally uses the Start menu to
access all your programs and would prefer your desktop to be free of icons, use this setting to hide all of the items
on your desktop. To set this option, go to: |
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| Hide Screen Saver Tab Under Control Panel | |||
This option allows you to hide the Screen Saver tab under
Control Panel > Display. By hiding this tab, you can prevent users from activating screen savers or setting screen saver
passwords. To set this option, go to: |
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| Does Your CD-ROM Cycle a Lot | |||
If
your CD-ROM Changer cycles excessively, try out this tip below.
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| Automated Registry Edits | |||
| If you need to change Registry entries using batch files or other automated scripts, you can use REG files. Create REG files by using the Registry/Export Registry File option in RegEdit. Generally, you'll want to export only the smallest subtree of the Registry that you need. To restore the exported values to the Registry from a batch file, use the command line regedit/s myfile.reg. | |||
| Abolish Animations | |||
| You can turn off animation that shows windows popping to and from the taskbar by adding a string value named MinAnimate to the HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics key. Set the string value to 0 to turn off animations. | |||
| A Bin by Any Other Name | |||
| Want to rename your Recycle Bin? Run RegEdit and use the Edit/ Find function to search for the string "Recycle Bin." The first or second occurrence you find should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT; you should see an entry that shows a default value of "Recycle Bin." Click the plus sign next to the key, then click on a subkey named ShellFolder. You'll see a binary value named Attributes. The first byte of Attributes is 40. Change it to 50, and you'll be able to rename the Recycle Bin immediately. Just right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and select Rename. | |||
| Have a Delete and Rename option for your Recycle Bin | |||
| Have you ever noticed that most desktop icons have a
Delete and Rename option when you right-click on them, but the Recycle Bin does not. Using this option you
can make the Delete and Rename options available for the Recycle Bin as well. To set this option, go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\ {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder Edit the value "Attributes" (BINARY value) and change the value setting to one of the following numbers: 50010020 = Add Rename Only 60010020 = Add Delete Only 70010020 = Add Delete and Rename |
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| Create A Login Warning Message | |||
To
create a login warning message (such as one reading "For Business
Use Only, Unauthorized use is prohibited."), do the following
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| Display Icon in Control Panel, as well as the Properties Option | |||
| Use this Registry setting to disable the Display icon in
Control Panel, as well as the Properties option when a user right-clicks on the desktop. By disabling these options,
you will stop the user from changing settings that control monitor resolution as well as screen
saver and wallpaper options. To disable this option for a user, open the
Registry Editor and go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System Edit the value "NoDispCPL" (DWORD value) and set the value equal to "1"(without quotes) to disable the Display icon (if the value/key does not already exist, create it.) To re-enable the option, delete the above value or set the value to "0." The setting will take effect immediately and does not require a reboot. |
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| Disable the Documents Submenu on Win98's Start Menu | |||
| You can disable the Documents submenu on Win98's Start menu.
A quick Registry edit removes the Documents menu and the C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder altogether. First,
back up your Registry files-C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT-before making
any changes. Next, launch RegEdit and go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. In the right pane, right-click on the background and select New/Binary Value. Type NoRecentDocsHistory and press Enter. Double-click on the new icon and enter 01000000 in the Edit Binary Value dialog box. (Note: RegEdit automatically inserts three spaces into the value.) Click on OK. Add a new NoRecentDocsMenu binary value entry and follow the same steps. Close RegEdit and restart Windows. To reverse the tip, delete the two new binary values you added, or change both values to 00000000. |
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| Hide the Background Tab Under Control Panel | |||
Use this Registry setting to hide the Background tab under
Control Panel >Display, to prevent users from changing their desktop background andn wallpaper settings. To set this
option, open the Registry Editor and go to: |
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| Windows 95 to Perform a Constant Refresh of File and Folder Views | |||
| To set Windows 95 to perform a constant refresh of file and
folder views, launch the Registry Editor (type regedit in the Run command line), then drill down the left-hand pane
through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/control/Update. In the right-hand pane, right-click on UpdateMode and select Modify. In the edit window, change the 01 to 00. You'll have to exit regedit and reboot your computer before the change takes effect |
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| Hide the Virtual Memory button on the Performance Tab | |||
Use this Registry setting to hide the Virtual Memory button
on the Performance tab under Control Panel > System. By hiding this button, you can prevent users from changing or
disabling the machine's Virtual Memory setting, which can adversely effect the machine's
performance. To set this option, open the Registry Editor and go to: |
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| Change Registered Owner in Windows 98 | |||
When you install Windows 9x, it asks for your name. From that
point on, the computer recognizes the entered name as the official registered owner. Here's how to change it:
Launch the Registry Editor (regedit.) Drill down to and click on: |
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| Transform "My Computer" and "Network Neighborhood" icons into Toolbars | |||
| The two main hard-wired Win98 Desktop icons, My Computer and Network Neighborhood, will magically transform into toolbars if you drag them to one of the four edges of your screen and let go. You can "stack" the two on the same edge, drag the new toolbars to the taskbar or drag them to the center of the Desktop to create floating toolbars. | |||
| Increase Registry Backups | |||
| Win98 keeps the last five backups Registry Checker creates. To save more backups, open \WINDOWS\SCANREG.INI with Notepad and change the MaxBackupCopies= value from 5 to a higher number. | |||
| Disable Virtual Memory Button | |||
| Use
this Registry setting to hide the Virtual Memory button on the
Performance tab under Control Panel > System. By hiding this button,
you can prevent users from changing or disabling the machine's Virtual
Memory setting, which can adversely effect the machine's performance. To
set this option, open the Registry Editor and go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System Edit/create the value "NoVirtMemPage" (String Value) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Virtual Memory button, or "0" to display the button. The setting will take effect immediately and does not require a reboot |
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| RegEdit Script | |||
| If you export a Registry key to disk or create a special RegEdit script, double-clicking the file automatically merges its content with the Registry. You can prevent inadvertent merging of REG files by changing the default action to display a REG file in Notepad. Select View/Options/Filetypes (Folder Options in Win98.) Then select Registration Entries from the Registered Filetype list and click Edit. Choose Edit and Set Default. When you do want to merge a file into the Registry, right-click it and select Merge from the popup menu. | |||
| Speed Up Program Launching | |||
| Your PC's processor, while important, isn't always given the time it needs to execute tasks. Power users might consider maximizing the CPU's priority. Open the system Registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ BIOS. In the rightmost pane, create a new DWORD value and label it: "CPUPriority" (without quotes.) Double-click the newly created setting, switch its format to Decimal, then enter "1" (without quotes) as a value. Upon reboot, this tweak should speed up the launching of programs. NOTE: your mileage may vary. | |||
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