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Cheap Windows Tricks

  1. Can’t remember your Windows password? Fugeddaboddit!

    If your Windows computer has been set up to require a password when you log on, there’s a good chance you may not recall which to use. But this need not be a disaster.

    Upon being asked for the password, click on Cancel. You’ll end up in Windows anyway, although not with your personalized settings.

    Click on Start, Programs and MS-DOS Prompt. In the DOS window, type DIR *.PWL (with a space after DIR only) and press Enter. You’ll get a list of files ending in .PWL, one of which probably starts with a reasonable facsimile of your name, like SANDYMIL.PWL if you’re Sandy Miller. Delete it with the command DEL followed by a space and the filename, as in DEL SANDYMIL.PWL.

    Close the DOS window and restart. You’ll be asked for a new password

  2. Get more info about your PC

    If you used a PC before Windows 95, you may remember the MSD utility that gave you all kinds of information about your Windows 3.1 or DOS system. Too bad Win95 or 98 doesn't have a similar program, eh?

    But it does, it does!

    Using Explorer, look in your Windows\MSApps\MSInfo folder for a file called MSInfo32.exe. If it's not there, try looking in Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo.

    Double-click on it to open it. You'll find MSInfo gives you tons of info about your system and its components, including type of system, total memory, available memory, available space on each of your hard drives, swap file size, system DLLs, font substitutions and much, much more.

  3. More than one way to stop a disk scan

    As mentioned last week, some Windows 95 and 98 systems will scan the hard drive for problems whenever they are shut down improperly - even if the shutdown is caused by Windows itself. You can prevent this with a tweak to the msdos.sys file.

    But if tweaking system files makes you nervous, here's another way of accomplishing the same end (the end of useless disk scanning, that is).

    Click on Start and Run. Type msconfig and hit OK. This opens Microsoft's configuration utility. Click on the Advanced button and check the box labelled "Disable Scandisk after bad shutdown".

    That's it. No more time-consuming scans.

  4. Extend your selection skills in Word

    When you want to select text in Microsoft Word, do you sweep across it with your mouse? And then get mixed up or lose your place when the selection runs beyond the text showing in the open window?

    Several alternatives make it a whole lot easier to select text. Here are three of them:

    1. Place the cursor at your starting point in the text. Hold down the Shift key and press the Arrow keys. Text will be selected in the direction of the Arrow keys.
    2. Click on the starting point. Scroll to near the end point, hold down Shift and click on where you want to end the selection.
    3. Click at the starting point. Then double-click on the greyed-out EXT in the status bar below the window you’re working in. Navigate to your intended end point and click on it. This is using Word’s Extension Mode, which stays in effect until you double-click on EXT again to turn it off.
    These tricks work in all versions since Word 95 at least.

  5. Even up your columns

    In Windows Explorer, are some columns in the right pane too narrow to display the full information? But others are wasting space by being too wide? Of course, you could adjust each column individually, fiddling with the title tabs at the top of each column until you get each one just right. Or,you could simply select any file in the list by clicking on it once, hold down the Ctrl key and press the plus sign (+) on your keypad. All the columns will adjust automatically to fit their widest item!

  6. Elementary, Watson

    The great sleuth's famous sidekick is available in your computer, prepared to help you track down problems with your system: Dr. Watson has been part of Windows through several versions but most users don't realize it.

    If you're having computer problems, give the good doctor a try.

    First you have to make Dr. Watson active. In Windows 95 you can probably find the file drwatson.exe in the System folder within your Windows folder. In Windows 98 it's usually directly in the Windows folder. In Win98 you can also activate it by going through the Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and System Information menus and then selecting Dr. Watson from the Tools menu. The Dr. Watson icon should appear on the taskbar in the lower-right corner of your screen.

    You can also put a shortcut to drwatson.exe in your Startup folder to have it automatically activated whenever you boot your computer.

    To get a report on the current status of your system and possibly suggestions on how to fix any problems, just click on the Dr. Watson icon on your taskbar and select Dr. Watson from the pop-up menu.

    You can also use Dr. Watson to keep log of ongoing problems and refer to this information when you contact a help desk by phone or on the Internet.