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If you have the dual-media version of Windows 95 (one CD-ROM and multiple diskettes), keep in mind that Windows "remembers" which one you used for the setup procedure. If you need to make changes later on, you must use the same media you used for the initial setup.
When Windows 95 is up and running, use Notepad or your favorite editor to review the contents of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Chances are Windows 95 inserted a REM (remark) statement at the beginning of some lines because it no longer needs the listed item. Even if a line hasn't been disabled, you may not need it anyway. If in doubt, step through both files one line at a time and experiment to see what you do and don't need. With luck, you can get rid of both files. If you want to continue prescribing your own environment variables (SET TEMP, PATH and so on), you can now move these lines into CONFIG.SYS, which means you may no longer need an AUTOEXEC.BAT.
If you're about to install a Plug-and-Play device in an older system, make a note of IRQ, DMA and I/O addresses, as well as memory resources, that legacy adapters are already using. Then put those resources on reserve, so no new device can use them by accident. To do this, open Control Panel's System applet, click on the Device Manager tab, highlight Computer and then click on the Properties button near the bottom of the dialog box. Next, click on the Reserve Resources tab and then on the radio button next to the appropriate resource type. Finally, click on the Add button and enter the IRQ, DMA channel, I/O or memory address you want to reserve.
When you first insert a Plug-and-Play device, especially in a PC Card slot, Windows 95 drops whatever it's doing to attend to it. Windows assumes you want it installed immediately. It won't ask you about this, so make sure that's what you want to do before you plug in the device.
Look in the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI for an EMMExclude= line. It may be a leftover from a real-mode device that's no longer in use, in which case you can erase it. If in doubt, temporarily disable the exclusion by placing a semicolon at the head of the line.
Do you know which applications are active besides the one you're currently working on? To do a quick check,press the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys to bring up the Close Program dialog box. Along with a dire warning about what will happen if you do that again, the box lists all currently open applications. Look over the list, then click on the Cancel button to exit the dialog box. Or use the occasion to close one or more of the listed applications.
Train Explorer to go where you want it to without extra prompting from you. For example, here's how to open the Programs folder on the Windows 95 Start menu. Highlight any Explorer shortcut icon, open the File menu and select the Properties option. Click on the Shortcut tab and add the switches shown here and explained immediately below:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /e,/root,,C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs
/e,
Use Windows Explorer view.
/Root,*object*,
Specify what to show in the left-hand window. If no object is specified (as in this example), the desktop is displayed.
C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs
This folder's contents will be displayed in the right-hand window when Explorer opens. Revise this line as appropriate to open the folder of your choice.
Windows 95 lets you put folders within folders within folders, but sometimes this can be overdone (the Games folder in the Accessories folder comes to mind). For faster access to an important folder, open Explorer, find the desired folder and drag it to the Programs folder on the Start menu. The next time you click on Programs, you'll find the folder listed there among the others.
In getting up to speed with the new Windows 95 Registry Editor, don't overlook the cursor keys. Use the keys to move quickly from one folder to another. As each folder opens, its contents appear in the Registry's Name and Data columns in the right-hand window.
When you hide the taskbar (select Settings from the Start menu, then Taskbar and put a check mark in the Auto Hide box), you leave a fine line at the bottom of the desktop. When you move the mouse pointer to the line, the taskbar pops up again. To trim the width of that line, move the mouse pointer to any clear spot on the desktop, click the secondary mouse button and select Properties. Then click on the Appearance tab, scroll through the Item box and highlight Active Window Border. Then adjust the value in the Size box, as desired.
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