Free password protection for Windows 3.x
A temporary thing
Undo that voodoo that you do so well
The eleventh error in Windows 3.1
Quick turnoff for 32-bit access
Windows toolbox: roll 'em up
Q I'm wondering if there's a way to password-protect Windows 3.1. It would be nice to have my system protected by such a prompt.
- Bob Elliot
A Unlike Windows 95, Windows 3.x does not include password protection at start-up, but you can modify the screen saver password prompt so it appears each time you start Windows. Savvy Windows users can overcome this ploy, but it's free and may foil run-of-the-mill snoopers.
Here's what to do. First, back up your WIN.INI file just in case something goes wrong. In File Manager or Program Manager, choose File-Run, type win.ini, and press <Enter>. In the [windows] section, look for the line that begins programs=. Add a space followed by scr at the end of this line. The result should look something like this: programs=exe com pif bat scr. Save WIN.INI and exit your text editor.
Now go to Program Manager and open the StartUp group. Choose File-New, select Program Item, and click OK. On the description line, type anything you want, preferably something obscure. On the command line, type the name of one of your Windows .scr files (SSMARQUE.SCR, SSSTARS.SCR, or SSMYST.SCR, for example) followed by a space and the /s switch to activate it. For instance, if you include the complete path, your command line might read c:\windows\ssmyst.scr /s.
To give the icon an appearance that belies its true purpose, click Change Icon. (If you get a message that the path is invalid, click OK to ignore it.) Click Browse. Select a file containing icons, such as MORICONS.DLL or PROGMAN.EXE, and click OK. Select an icon and click OK. Click OK again to close the Program Item Properties dialogue box. You may get an error message that no associations exist for your .scr file, but you can click OK to ignore it.
If you haven't already done so, you need to set up your personal password. Start Control Panel, double-click the Desktop icon, and select the screen saver you indicated in the StartUp group. Click Setup, check Password Protected, then click Set Password. Enter your new password twice, and then click OK three times to close all dialogue boxes.
The next time you start Windows, your screen saver will ask for a password before any work can be done. For added security, start Windows from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (make win the last line in that file) so your system goes right into Windows.
Q A friend and I got into a long discussion about deleting *.tmp files in the Windows temp directory. I say it's safe to delete them because they were meant to be used temporarily and then discarded. My friend says I'm courting disaster if I do that. Who's correct?
- Michael Sumin
A You're both right. Windows applications create .tmp files for various purposes, such as storing information for undo commands or as printer spooling files. Normally these files are deleted when you exit an application, but if a crash occurs, they can hang around until you clean them up.
Deleting .tmp files while Windows is running can cause problems for applications that need them. But it's safe to eliminate the files when Windows isn't running. Exit Windows completely, and at the DOS prompt type del c:\windows\temp\*.tmp (adjusting the path as necessary). If you're using Windows 95, restart the computer in MS-DOS mode to clear out these files.
Q I like how Windows 95's Explorer forgives me when I'm sloppily dragging files hither and thither and lets me undo almost anything. Trouble is, when I realise I've done something wrong, I'm not exactly sure which file will be affected when I choose Undo Move, Undo Delete, Undo Rename, and so on. Sometimes I choose Undo anyway, but I'm still not sure which file was changed. Is there any way to take the guesswork out of Undo?
- Barbara Winchester
A Relax. You just need to monitor your Status Bar more closely. When you want to undo an action but aren't sure which files will be affected, open Explorer, Control Panel, or even the Recycle Bin. Make sure the Status Bar is visible at the bottom of the window; if you don't see it, choose View-Status Bar. Click the Edit menu, or right-click in a blank area of the window. Move the cursor over the Undo command and pause - don't click. Then look at the Status Bar. You'll see a more thorough explanation of what Undo will do and which files are involved. When undoing a rename action, you'll even see the old and new file names.
Q Recently I reinstalled Windows 3.1 on my IBM 386SX machine. But now one of my DOS applications won't work in Windows. When I try to start it, I get the error message Unexpected DOS error: 11. Can you help me out?
- Chankyu Park
A This message usually indicates a problem with a video driver. To test this theory, in Program Manager select File-Run, select SETUP.EXE in the Windows subdirectory, and click OK. Then select Options-Change System Settings. Change the display option to VGA and click OK. Follow the prompts to switch to this video driver, and restart Windows. If that solves your problem, try reinstalling your original video driver or getting an updated driver.
Another common cause of this message is a corrupt WINOA386.MOD file. To fix it, copy WINOA386.MOD from your Windows system directory to another directory (you can delete it once you replace it with a better version). Get out your Windows floppies and find the disk with file WINOA386.MO_. Open a DOS window, type expand, and follow the prompts to restore winoa386.mod to your Windows system directory.
Q I use Windows for Workgroups and have a program that will not work with 32-bit file or disk access. To meet special requirements for this program, I've set up my PC to start in multiple configurations. But I need to add a line to my config.sys or autoexec.bat file to turn off 32-bit access. Can you help?
- Eric Eck
A If you start Windows from autoexec.bat, you can turn off 32-bit file and disk access from the line that starts Windows. The /d:f switch turns off 32-bit disk access; the /d:c switch turns off 32-bit file access. To turn off both, you'd start Windows with the line win /d:f /d:c. Then use SmartDrive or other disk caching software for the configuration that lacks 32-bit file access to help make up for the performance hit.
By Scott Dunn
As your Windows 95 desktop becomes increasingly crowded with more application windows, dialogue boxes, and property sheets, digging for the right window can mean an annoying set of clicks and keystrokes. If you want a window out of the way for just a moment, try WinShade, a shareware utility that gives any window a "roll-up" feature. Just click on the title bar of the application that's in the way, and poof - the whole window disappears, except for its title bar. You can still use the title bar to move the window as usual. And when you're ready to see the whole window, just click on its title bar again. Give this shareware program a try by downloading winshade.zip from http://www.idg.com.au/pc.world. For the direct approach, send the $US5 registration fee to its creator, Mark Rentz, at 500 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, MA USA.