PC Resource Guide, Windows Me Tips

Remove Floppy Startup Check

Windows will check to see if a new floppy drive is present every time it boots. You can, however, instruct Windows to skip this process, thereby  reclaiming the time it takes to perform the check on startup.To  eliminate the floppy drive check, right-click on My Computer and select  Properties from the context menu. Click on the Performance tab and then the File System button. Click on the Floppy Disk tab and clear the Search For  New Floppy Disk Drives Every Time Your Computer Starts check box. Close the  applet boxes by approving your changes. Reboot the computer, and Windows  will no longer spend valuable time checking to see if a new floppy drive has  been installed.

 IE Cascading Menu removal

IE 4 and later versions add a cascading menu to the  Start menu that displays the Favorites folder. Follow these steps to remove:

   1. Back up your Registry.   2. Launch RegEdit (select Run from the Start menu, type RegEdit in the text box, and press Enter).  3. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER,select Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer.   4. Select Edit/New/DWORD value.   5. Change the default name to NoFavoritesMenu.  6. Press Enter and change the contents of the Value Data to 1.   7. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. The Favorites menu will still be available from windows in Explorer, but it won't be cluttering your Start menu. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up   the Registry before you make any changes.

WindowsMe Registry Backup

To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information. Once you have opened the System Information application, click Tools in the menu and select  Registry Checker. After a quick scan of your system, Registry Checker will offer to make a backup. Click Yes to replace the oldest backup file with a fresh one.

Change Video Refresh Rate

Sometimes a flicker on your screen can be associated with the refresh rate set for your monitor. See, the vertical refresh rate is the number of times per second that your monitor redraws the screen. A low refresh rate, for instance 60 times per second (60 Hz), can produce a noticeable flicker and even cause eyestrain. The fluorescent lights in your office only compound the problem. Your refresh rate should be set to at least 70 Hz. Follow these steps:   1. Go to the Setting tab in the Display control panel, click Advanced, and then click the Adapter tab. You should see a pull-down tab that lists available refresh rates.   2. Select 75Hz for starters and click OK or Apply. If your screen goes black or becomes mangled for a few seconds, don't panic; that's normal.   3. If the new refresh rate looks good to you, click OK to keep the new setting. If the screen still flickers, try 85 Hz (assuming your monitor supports that rate at your desired resolution). Warning: Setting the refresh rate too high can damage your monitor; check your monitor manual or the manufacturer's Web site to find out the maximum refresh rate supported for the resolution you are using.

Navigate through Directories.

 Navigate through Directories without opening new windows. To display a subdirectory in the current window, click the My Computer desktop icon. Select Folder Options from the View pull-down menu. From the General tab, select the radio button labeled   "Custom, based on settings you choose." Click the Settings button located directly to the right. In the Custom Settings window under the "Browser folders as follows" heading, choose the "Open each folder in the same window" radio button. Click the OK button to close the Custom Settings window and save changes. To make your changes apply to all folders, click the View tab from the Folder Options window. Under the "Folder views" heading, click the Like Current Folder button. When prompted to confirm that you want to make all folders conform to this standard, click the Yes button. Click the Apply button at the bottom of the window and click OK to return to your single-window browsing.

Create a Startup Disk

You should always have an emergency boot disk handy just in case disaster strikes and you can't boot your PC from your hard drive. To create one, insert a blank floppy diskette in your floppy drive. Open the Control Panel and choose Add/Remove Programs. Click the Startup Disk tab and click Create Disk.    

Clear the Document Menu

 Windows provides easy access to recently used documents in the Documents section of the Start menu. However, this lets anyone else using your computer access the files you have just opened. Throw them off your trail by selecting Settings from the Start menu and then Taskbar. From the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, select the Advanced tab and click the Clear button. Users attempting to access your Documents from the Start menu will come up empty-handed.

Speed Up ME Boot Time

If you think Windows Me takes too long to boot, you can remove the built-in, two-second delay in the OS's startup sequence. Here's what you need to do:

   1. Under the Start button, select Search/For Files or Folders.

2. Enter msdos.sys in the "Named" box and C: in the "Look In" box, then click Find Now.

3. When the file appears, right-click it and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

4. Click to remove the check marks from the Read-Only and Hidden attributes, then click OK.

5. Right-click msdos.sys, select Open With from the pop-up menu, enter Notepad as the opening program, and then click OK.

6. Under Options, enter BootDelay=0 or BootDelay=1 on its own line. (This represents respective delays of zero seconds and one second, both of which are faster than the default.)

7. Close Notepad and save your changes on the way out.

8. Return msdos.sys to its hidden, read-only state. (Right-click it, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and check the "Read-Only" and "Hidden" boxes. Then click OK.)

9. Quit and restart Windows.

Warning: Any time you make changes to your SYS files, it's a good idea to back up your important files and have your original Windows disk on hand in case you need to reinstall.

Conserve PC Power

Your computer uses a sizable amount of energy to keep your hard drive working. Some hard drives spin at speeds greater than 10,000rpm, so it's no surprise that a large percentage of your computer's energy goes to the hard drive. To conserve energy, you can set your disk to spin down if it's been idle for a while. To do this, go to Control Panel and open the Power Options icon. There should be a tab that reads "turn off harddisk." Set the amount of time you want before your disk spins down and click OK. This slows computer performance only when the hard drive turns back on.

Back-off the Video

If your screen redraws slowly or you experience other video glitches, your video card may be working too hard. Some video cards claim to offer screen resolutions and color depths they can't actually support. If you think your card might be maxed out, try bumping down the color depth or screen resolution a notch in the Display Control Panel (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display) or right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Unless you're a graphic designer, you probably won't notice the difference between 32-bit true color and 16-bit high color, anyway.

Super Shortcut

If you want to quickly access an item but don't want to wade through your Start menu categories, make a super-shortcut from your taskbar. Simply right-click the taskbar located at the bottom of your screen.  From the pop-up menu, select Toolbars/New Toolbar. From the New Toolbar dialog box, open the Start Menu folder from the Windows directory. You'll find that all items listed on your Start menu are in the Programs subdirectory of this folder. Choose the program or file you want to easily access and Press the OK button.

Drag, Drop and Print

Print anything you want in a snap by creating a printer shortcut. Select Settings/Control Panel from the Start menu. Double-click the Printers icon. Once you're in the Printers folder, drag your printer icon onto the desktop. A prompt window will appear confirming that you want to create this shortcut. Click the Yes button. You can now drag any file onto your new printer shortcut, and the print job will begin immediately.
 

Change your Drive Letters

Perhaps you're the type who doesn't like convention, or you're used to using particular drive letters for certain drives. However, you can change your drive letters and break out of the "A:\ through E:\" monotony. To do so, double-click the System icon from the Control Panel. Once the System Properties window appears, select the "Device Manager" tab. Find the device or drive that you want to change and highlight it. Click the "Properties" button to open the item's Properties settings. Select the "Settings" tab and under the  "Reserved drive letters" heading, choose the same letter for the "Start drive letter" and "End drive letter" options. If the drive letter fields are disabled, you can usually enable them by checking the "Removable" option to change the drive letters. However, once you have changed your drive letter settings, be sure to uncheck the "Removable" box if it initially  remained checked. Click OK twice and restar t your computer to enable the changes.