Boot to Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
Speed up printing by using ECP
Where's QuickView?
Search Windows help files
Manipulate files without leaving your Windows 95 applications
Two profiles for Netscape on Win95
Labelling a disk in Win95; Asian web sites
Unable to set Page Frame Address error
Removing programs from Win95 uninstall list
Can't get Linux to mount CD-ROM drive
Should company upgrade from Windows 3.0?
Q I recently installed Windows 95 over Windows 3.1. I want to keep Windows 95, but I need to use Windows 3.1 occasionally in order to run Adobe Photoshop 3.0 and Illustrator 4.0 - it's not yet worth it for me to upgrade to the Windows 95 versions of those applications. Is there a way to install Windows 3.1 without uninstalling Windows 95, and select the earlier version when I boot up?
- Allen Katz
A Windows 3.1, 3.11, or any version of Windows for Workgroups runs just fine on top of Windows 95's real-mode operating system core, so you don't need to reinstall your old version of DOS or uninstall Windows 95. But you will need to do three things to run both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95:
1. Make Windows 95 stop loading by default at boot-up.
2. Edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT so that they let you choose between Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 at boot-up.
3. Reinstall Windows 3.1 to a new directory.
For the first step, select Start-Run, type attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys in the Open field, click OK, then open the file MSDOS.SYS in your favourite text editor. In the '[Options]' section, change the line BootGUI=1 to BootGUI=0, save and close the file, and reset its system, hidden, and read-only attributes with the command attrib +s +h +r c:\msdos.sys. The next time you start or restart your system, Windows will boot to the command prompt. To start Windows 95, type win, just like in the good old days.
The second step is to add menus to your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files that let you choose between two configurations. Figures 1 and 2 show the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT multiconfiguration files from one of my systems.
The Windows 95 configuration may be quite minimal; strictly speaking, CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT aren't even required. Your Windows 3.1 configuration should load any real-mode drivers and TSRs required to support your CD-ROM drive, mouse, or other hardware, plus memory managers, disk caching, and environment variables.
Important: The Windows 3.1 path in your AUTOEXEC.BAT must point to the Windows 3.1 directory rather than to the Windows 95 directory. Unfortunately, Windows 95 puts the Windows 95 directory at the beginning of your path, no matter what AUTOEXEC.BAT's path= statement says. The trick is to have two path statements - one that triggers Windows 95's annoying override behaviour, and one that points to the Windows 3.1 directory. The strange part of this trick is that you must disable the first path statement by preceding it with a semicolon; the rem statement won't do the job. If you don't need a path for your Windows 95 configuration, place the statement ;path= (with no directories) on the line before your Windows 3.1 path statement.
The [common] label at the end of CONFIG.SYS allows other programs to add statements that both configurations will see. You may not want new statements to be shared by both versions, however. For example, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 will add the 32-bit file access driver IFSHLP.SYS and prevent Windows 95 from booting. In this example, deleting [common] will make new config.sys statements a part of the win31 block only.
Once you're satisfied that your multiple-configuration boot files are loading properly, boot to your Windows 3.1 configuration and install Windows 3.1 to the directory in AUTOEXEC.BAT's 'set path=' statement (I chose win31). It won't hurt to dig up installation disks for all your peripherals, and even a copy of your old Windows 3.1 CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files.
Near the end of installation, the setup utility in Windows 3.1 may inform you that it couldn't modify CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files because of the multiple configurations. When setup is complete, go to the Windows 3.1 directory and peruse the contents of CONFIG.WIN and AUTOEXEC.WIN. If nothing Windows has added (in upper case) looks like a recipe for boot disaster, make backups of your current CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, and then copy the new files to your root directory with the commands copy config.win c:\config.sys and copy autoexec.win c:\autoexec.bat.
When you reboot, Windows 95 presents a menu of the two Windows versions. Select one, and it starts up.
CONFIG.SYS
[menu]
menuitem=Win95, Start Windows 95
menuitem=Win31, Start Windows 3.1
menudefault=Win31, 15
[common]
device=c:\windows\himem.sys
device= c:\windows\emm386.exe noems
dos=high,umb
[Win95]
[Win31]
device=c:\aspi4dos.sys
device=c:\aspicd.sys /d:aspicd0
[common]
AUTOEXEC.BAT
@echo off
echo Configuration is %config%
;path=c:\windows;c:\windows\command
goto %config%
:Win95
win
goto end
:Win31
lh c:\windows\smartdrv.exe 2048 128
lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:aspicd0 /:h
lh c:\mouse.com
path=c:\win31;c:\windows\command
win
:end
Q My new PC has an Extended Capability Port. Do I need a special type of parallel cable to use the ECP with my Okidata OL400e printer?
- Andrew Gamble
A You do need an ECP-compatible printer cable to take advantage of your PC's high-speed bidirectional transmission capabilities. ECP's data compression can make printing, especially of graphics, 50 to 100 times faster than with a standard parallel connection. Unfortunately, your printer's parallel port must also support ECP to see this benefit. Older models, including the OL400e, offer only standard Centronic parallel and RS-232C serial connectors. Though you won't get any speed benefits, your computer's ECP port is completely compatible with your old printer and cable.
Q I keep reading about a file viewer called QuickView that's supposedly built into Windows 95, but it's not on my PC, and it's not an installation option. I bought the floppy disk version of Win95, which doesn't include all the utilities on the CD-ROM version. Is QuickView one of the tools that were left out? If so, how can I obtain it?
- Robert Wilson
A Yes, Microsoft did leave QuickView out of the floppy version of Windows 95, but you can download a copy (QUIKVU.EXE) from Microsoft's FTP site (ftp .microsoft.com\softlib\ mslfiles\). Microsoft's Windows CD-ROM Extras Web page (http:// www.microsoft.com/windows/ software/cdextras.htm) contains more utilities not included on the floppy version - except for QuickView.
You can get all the CD-ROM extras on floppies, including the dial-up networking scripter, policy editor (for controlling each user's desktop settings), system monitor, CD player, and multiple language support tools - just use the coupon in the manual (Introducing Microsoft Windows 95).
QuickView can be addictive. If you become a QuickView junkie, you may want to upgrade to QuickView Plus, an expanded product sold by the makers of QuickView (which Microsoft licensed). QuickView Plus reads about 200 file types, compared with the regular QuickView's 30 or so file types. QuickView Plus is available from Inso Corp.
A I'm looking for a utility that will let me search Windows help files for a particular word. The .hlp files have a keyword index, true, but that's only useful if the file's author did a good job of assigning keywords to the topics. Since I'm seldom on the same wavelength as the author, finding the help I need is often a shot in the dark. Do you have any advice?
- Gary Shweid
A In Windows 95, you can get an index of all words in the help file (or files). First select Start-Help, then click the Find tab and the Rebuild button. Finally, select Maximize search capabilities. When the indexer is finished, you can search for any word in the help file or files.
The trick doesn't work for Windows 3.1-style help files, though, because they lack the full-text indexing feature. You can use the Find File feature in Windows 95. Choose Start menu - Find, specify *.hlp for the files to search for and your Windows directory and subdirectories for the path. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Containing text field specify the text string you want to search for. When you find the files, you can double-click on them in the list, and use their index or find facility to locate the string. You can also use simple DOS text-search facilities, such as the Norton Utilities TS.EXE program. You can find Windows 3.1 help files containing strings this way; however, you can't always find the text within the help file once you open it.
If you're determined to scour Windows 3.1 help files, try the pricey but powerful program Help Browser 2.0 from Cascadilla Press.
You can download a demo version from the company's Web page (http://www.cascadilla.com).
By Scott Spanbauer
The File Open dialogue box acts as a mini-Explorer window for many Windows 95 applications; you can delete, copy, and otherwise manipulate files by simply right-clicking them. Click the Preview icon to display a highlighted file's contents in the right pane if you want to know what's in the file before you do anything with it. Select the Properties icon to call up detailed information about the file itself.
Q HELP !!!! HELP !!!! My brother is a Manchester United fan and I am a Liverpool one. You can imagine how we love to do things separately. The one thing we share in common is our home PC, and we recently decided to install Netscape 2.0 on it. Here is the problem: we both have different accounts with the same service provider and when it comes to launching Netscape I get to see his personal settings (of course because he logged on last before me), and when I log off he gets onto the computer to do the same only to see my personal settings (ie, e-mail address).
I was told to install two copies of Netscape, but this didn't work either. Please help someone who cannot come to terms that United have really won the double again.
Your effort will always be appreciated.
- John T.
A John, I can't sort out the football issue but I think I may have an answer for you on the Netscape front. If Win95 programs are keeping their settings in the Registry file user.dat, you can set up your PC with different user profiles for each of you. This also allows you to each have the appropriate team colours on the desktop, and arrange your icons and start menu according to individual taste.
Open Control Panel, and launch the Passwords module. Click the User Profiles tab. Select the Users can customize their preferences and desktop settings ... option. Check both desktop and start menu options. Now you have to restart the machine. You're presented with a log-in dialogue, in which you specify a user ID and a password. If you type in the user ID Liverpool, Win95 creates a directory, called Windows\Profiles\Liverpool or thereabouts, and in it stores your user.dat file, your start menu setup and your desktop setup. It's great. When your brother wants to use the PC, he head-butts you off it, then chooses Start Menu-Shut Down, Close all programs and log on as a different user. He logs on as Manchester, and he can set up Netscape, and many other compliant Win32 programs, without affecting your settings.
There's also a way to do this if you don't want to have to log off and log on as a different user. This changes NetScape settings only. Try this:
Set up Netscape for Service Provider 1. Run the Windows 95 registry (Press <Ctrl>+<Esc>, R, type regedit.exe and press <Enter>) locate and select the branch
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Netscape]
Choose Registry-Export Registry File, and in the Export Registry dialogue choose Selected Branch. Then export the Netscape branch under the file name of your choice, say Manchester.Reg.
Now change your Netscape settings to those for ISP 2, and make another backup of the Netscape branch of the registry, say Liverpool.Reg.
Here's a kooky thing about the Windows 95 registry. To import the data into the registry, all you have to do is double-click the file Manchester.Reg, or Liverpool.Reg. A little dialogue appears saying the data has been imported into the registry.
Now run Netscape and it should have the new settings.
You can make a shortcut to the .reg files on your desktop, or in a folder. Before launching Netscape, just double-click on the appropriate one.
I've done a limited experiment with this and it seems to work (I successfully changed my Netscape home page by editing the exported registry file - it's in text format like an INI file - and importing it again).
I don't feel like experimenting with this a great deal more because life is short and the Win95 registry is long, but you might like to have a go. Don't forget to back up your registry before embarking on this lunacy -copy USER.DAT, USER.DA0, SYSTEM.DAT and SYSTEM.DA0 to a safe place. A better way is to use CFGBACK.EXE, the tool supplied in the Windows 95 CD-ROM in the Other\Misc\ Cfgback directory.
Q Currently there are several Chinese, Korean and Japanese Web sites. To look at or read any of these foreign Web pages, visit www.accsoft.com.au. This Web site contains the directions, instructions and demo software for viewing these foreign web sites.
By the way, ever try to label the floppy or hard disk after using My Computer? Well, I found out you can't.
- anon
A Thanks for the tip about the Web sites. To label the floppy, close any folder displaying the drive contents, then in My Computer, right click on the drive icon, and select Properties. Click the General tab, then type the label you want in the Label field.
What is the solution for the following error message: Unable to set page frame base address when booting up trying to initialise EMS memory?
- Tim Dry
A These error messages take us into highly technical realms. There's nothing to beat searching the Microsoft Knowledge Base (www.microsoft.com/kb) when you come across a precisely worded error message associated with a very commonly used Microsoft program. Searching for the text of your error message uncovered this:
This message indicates that EMM386 was unable to find 64K of contiguous space needed for the expanded memory page frame.
When you specify the RAM switch (or no switch at all), EMM386 attempts to create a 64K page frame in the upper memory area (UMA). The actual amount of extended memory used will be 108K (64K + 44K = 108K). The extra 44K is used for tables that EMM386 sets up to emulate expanded memory. This 64K of space acts as a window into expanded memory allowing programs to see all the available expanded memory 64K at a time.
I won't reproduce all of this material, but the simpler suggested solutions include:
Try using the NOEMS switch if expanded memory service (EMS memory) is not needed. Make sure HIMEM.SYS is installed above EMM386.EXE in the CONFIG.SYS file. Other devices should be loaded after EMM386.EXE (however, some hardware configurations require certain device drivers be loaded before HIMEM.SYS, such as DMDRVR.BIN, the disk manager, EMM.SYS, the expanded memory driver, and ADAPTEC.SYS, the driver for Adaptec controllers).
If your machine is not an IBM brand, add the following parameters to the EMM386 command line in the CONFIG.SYS file:
device=c:\dos\emm386.exe i=e000-efff (m9 or frame=e000) ram
The E000-EFFF memory range is generally not used by non-IBM machines. Including this range can allow you to find 64K of free contiguous memory.
You can also do fancy things with the mx switch and the pn parameter. If you're using MS-DOS 5.0, see page 606 of the User's Guide and Reference. If you are using MS-DOS 6, type help emm386.exe at the MS-DOS prompt.
Q Some programs have been manually removed from my hard drive, which has left their names in the Add/Remove Programs list in Control Panel. How can I edit these names out?
- Alan Priol
A One way is to download the latest version of TweakUI, one of the Microsoft Powertoys add-ons for Windows 95. You can find it on our website at www.idg.com.au/pc.world. It contains a feature for removing programs from this list.
Another way is to do a registry search. This is always risky. Back up your registry and then run the Registry Editor (see the first tip in this section).
In the Regedit window, type <Ctrl>+F, and in the Find dialogue type the name of the application, or the name of the vendor, or one of the files, or a common abbreviation for the application's name. Now you have to try and guess, from any entries you find, whether they're the ones that are causing it to appear in the Add/Remove Programs list.
Be very careful. If you're sure you've found an entry related to the uninstalled program, delete the key from the registry. Good luck.
Q I'm a student at the University of Technology Sydney, and am trying to put Linux on to my PC. I have a book called The Complete Linux Kit and the Slackware CD-ROM which is packaged with it. I have attempted various CD-ROM drivers from the CD to install it on my machine, however I kept getting the message can not mount CD-ROM drive. I even tried copying the files to my hard drive and using that as the source from which to copy the disk sets. I was presented with the error message invalid directory when I typed in C:\slakware. I have been told anything from "It won't install on a Win95 machine" to "My hex speed SB16 CD-ROM drive is not supported at all". It would be much appreciated if you could recommend a way in which to go about installing it.
- Malcolm Ward
A Here's info from an on-line Linux installation guide, located at http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/install-guide-2.2.2.html:
Almost all CD-ROM drives use the SCSI interface. As long as you have a SCSI adaptor supported by Linux, then your CD-ROM drive should work. A number of CD-ROM drives have been verified to work under Linux, including the
NEC CDR-74, Sony CDU-541 and Texel DM-3024. The Sony internal CDU-31a and the Mitsumi CD-ROM drives are supported by Linux as well.
Linux supports the standard ISO-9660 file system for CD-ROMs.
You can also try the comp.os.linux newsgroup.
It sounds like your problem may be that you're trying to use a newish IDE CD-ROM drive. There's probably not much you can do except get a SCSI card and a SCSI CD-ROM drive. Any other readers who've got Linux up and running - congratulations on your choice of a fine, robust and inexpensive operating system, and please pipe the data on how it's done through to the rest of us.
Q I know someone who works for a rather large organisation that sees fit to force its employees to work with a network based on Windows 3.0 of all things! Their MIS department is constantly struggling to patch crashes and reload software. Upper management is stalling and avoiding upgrading.
Please give a basic overview as to how it would be more cost-effective in the long run to upgrade than to keep paying MIS staff to "plug the leaks", as it were. My experience with 3.0 was that it was buggy and defective.
What are your views? Maybe management would listen to a professional like yourself.
- April J Anguiano
A Windows 3.0 is getting a bit long in the tooth. At this stage most companies are trying to decide whether to go to Windows 95 or Windows NT. Windows 3.0 doesn't even support TrueType fonts, and the networking is an afterthought.
I can only suppose that the software this company is running on Win3.0 is very primitive as well, because none of the OLE or drag-and-drop support is there. If the software is simple, it should be straightforward to run it on Windows NT workstation. This should be a support dream in comparison, with comparatively brilliant security, networking and network management. The drawback is you have to give everybody 16Mb of RAM, but since the cartel fell apart, RAM is cheaper than dog food. If you want to stick with 4Mb, the only option is Windows 3.11. Windows 3.11 is not as crash-happy as Windows 3.0, but it's close. It gives you good network support, built in e-mail (use this - it will change your life), drag and drop, OLE 2.0, TrueType fonts, and many other advantages. It also runs faster because it supports 32-bit file and disk access.
If you can stretch to 8Mb, you could get away with Win95 as long as you don't run a lot of apps at once. Win95 has a nicer interface and better network support, including a great NetWare client and TCP/IP. It's advisable to have 16Mb of RAM for Win95. It supports pre-emptive multitasking, albeit inefficiently, so when a program crashes Windows 95 can shut it down without waiting for permission. That means you don't necessarily lose all the applications you were running and the work you were doing at the time of the crash. Windows 95 crashes less often and less catastrophically, especially if you only run a couple of applications at a time. Crash protection works best if you upgrade to 32-bit applications, as 16-bit applications occupy the same address space and can wipe each other out.
Windows NT workstation is much more stable, and it's scalable, so you can plan and expand in the future. However, if this company is running Windows 3.0, they may have stopped expanding somewhere between 1990 and 1992.