Here’s a doubly safe way to be ready in case of emergency. Let the system make an Emergency Recovery Disk (ERD) for you during installation, and then keep that disk. As you work with Windows NT, you should use Rdisk to make a new ERD, but use a new disk, not the one you made during installation. This way, you’ll have an up-to-date disk and an original configuration disk.

People often like to use special sound files (Beavis and Butthead, Monty Python, President Clinton, etc.) to mark certain Windows events. If you acquire some sound files that you intend to use with your Windows NT installation, copy the files into the \Winnt\Media folder. This is where Windows NT looks for its sound files, and putting them there to start with can save you a lot of trouble.

By the way, for shut down with a bang, there’s a great scream in "A Christmas Story."

Here’s one we thought you might like to know about just in case you have a Compaq Prosignia server. It appears that if you have a disc in the first CD-ROM drive, the computer may hang waiting for the CD to boot. The computer will then refuse to boot until you remove the disc from the drive.

To correct the problem, change the CMOS settings to boot from the hard disk first, then Drive A, and then the CD-ROM drive. If you must boot from Drive A to correct a problem, go into the CMOS and temporarily set it to Drive A first.

In Windows 95, if you go to the command prompt and type

md This is a test

you'll get an error message telling you that you're trying to enter too many parameters. If you enter the same thing at the Windows NT command prompt, you'll get folders named

c:\This

c:\is

c:\a

c:\test

In either Windows 95 or Windows NT, you can use quotes to create long folder names. For example, entering

md "This is a test"

will create a folder named This is a test in either system.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to see if your page files are optimum, try this: First, click Start|Settings|Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click System to open it, then click the Performance tab.

Now click Change under Virtual Memory. This will open the Virtual Memory dialog box. See how much initial memory is assigned in your system. Record the value, then click OK twice to back out of the dialog boxes.

Now go ahead with your work and at the end of each day open Windows NT Explorer and click once on Pagefile.SYS to see how large it is. Check this for a few days and if the file size is consistently larger than the initial size, you may want to change the initial size to make your system more efficient.

Version 4.0

In the last tip, we pointed out that disabling Autorun can cause a problem if you play audio discs. Besides the CD problem, enabling Autorun can cause other problems. For example, if you use a disc changer, Autorun will force you to wait while it cycles through all the discs loaded in the changer.

Enabling or disabling Autorun requires you to edit the Registry. As usual, be careful when using RegEdit--you can seriously damage your installation--so make a backup. That said, here's how to enable and disable Autorun. Run RegEdit (it's in the \Winnt folder) and choose HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom, then double-click the Autorun key in the right pane of the RegEdit window. This opens a dialog box into which you enter a value. To disable Autorun, enter 0; to enable it, enter 1. Now click OK to close the dialog box. When back in RegEdit, choose Registry|Exit to close the program and save the change.

Version 4.0

If you need to add a communication port to your computer, remember that Windows NT 4.0 is not a plug-and-play system. This means that you'll have to tell the system about your new port.

Let's say you've just plugged in a new serial card set to COM 3. The next thing to do is click Start|Settings|Control Panel. When Control Panel opens, double-click the Ports icon. Now click Add and add COM 3. Click Settings and choose the appropriate setting for your new card. When you're finished, click Close and restart the computer.

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The usual way of getting around in a window is to use the mouse, but it isn't the only way. Let's say you're in the Drive C window and the first folder is selected. If you want to move to the second folder, you can use the mouse to click the folder, or you can press the right arrow key. To open a folder, you can double-click it. If the folder is already selected, you can open it by simply pressing Enter.

Version 4.0

NotePad is a handy text editor. It's so handy that you might like to keep it readily available. Perhaps you'd like to place a shortcut to it on your desktop.

If so, open Windows NT Explorer and locate the Winnt folder. In the right pane of Explorer, locate the Notepad.EXE icon and use the right mouse button to drag it to the desktop. When you release the mouse button, NT will open a menu from which you need to choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Now NotePad will always be readily accessible.

Version 4.0

We recently told you that Windows NT can't view drives compressed by Windows 95. Leonard Wien, Jr. points out that Windows NT can see drives over a network that have been compressed by Windows 95. It's only files compressed in the same computer that Windows NT can't see.

UPDATE

In the August 5 tip, we said:

"POINT YOURSELF IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Version 4.0

If you start the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager in Windows NT 4.0, you'll probably get the message

File Manager Initialization: Unable to initialize background update support. File Manager will exit. The specified procedure could not be found.

File Manager will then close. What's happening is that the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager is not compatible with NT 4.0. There is a Version 4.0 File Manager. The file (Winfile.EXE) is dated 8/2/96 1:30 A.M. It's 250,640 bytes in length and is located in the Winnt\System32 folder. To double-check the file size, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Click the General tab to see the size in bytes.

This problem usually occurs when users set up shortcuts that point to the incorrect file. Make sure your shortcuts all point to the 8/26/96 version of File Manager."

As subscriber Tom Towler correctly observes, if you're using Service Pack 3, the date for Winfile.EXE is 8/13/96 8:38:00PM and the file size is 250,640 bytes.

If you right-click a file icon, then choose Send To, you get a menu of possible destinations. Did you know you can add items to this list? Just add a folder or application's shortcut to the C:\Winnt\Profiles\YourProfile\SendTo folder, in which YourProfile is the name of your profile folder. You should work only with your own Send To folder, even if you can access others.

To add an item to the Send To folder, locate the item's icon and drag it to the C:\Winnt\Profiles\YourProfile\SendTo folder. This will create a shortcut in the Send To folder.

Version 4.0

You can change the command prompt during an MS-DOS session with the Prompt command. For example, you could type

What is your command? $P$G

to make the prompt look like this:

What is your command? C:\>

This prompt will remain in effect until you change it or close the command window.

If you'd like to change the prompt permanently, click Start|Settings|Control Panel and double-click System. Next, click the Environment tab and click in the Variable text box. Type Prompt, then click in the Value text box. In this box, you

need to enter your new prompt text. Sticking with our original example, you could enter

What is your command? $P$G

Now click Add, then click OK to close the dialog box. When you open the command prompt window again, it will display your new default prompt.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to change the time format of your Windows NT 4.0 installation, click Start|Settings|Control Panel and double-click Regional Settings. When the dialog box opens click the Time tab.

To change the time format, click the arrow at the right of the Time Style list box to expand the list. Choose the format you want from the list and click OK.

If you want to use 24-hour format, choose H:mm:ss.

Version 4.0

You can use the Documents menu to revisit files that you've used recently. For example, if you've worked with several Word files, you'll find those files appear in the Documents menu. All you have to do to open one of them is click Start|Documents and select the file.

You may notice that some files don't appear in Documents. Chances are these are files that fail to properly register with NT. Only the files of applications that registered properly during setup will appear in the menu.

Version 4.0

If you need to start a Win 16 application from the command prompt and would like to run it in its own memory space, type

Start /Separate Drive\Folder\App

where 'Drive' is the drive on which the file resides, 'Folder' is the name of the folder where the file is located, and 'App' is the name of the Win 16 executable file.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to try some different mouse pointers, click Start|Settings|Control Panel and double-click the Mouse icon. Click the Pointers tab to see what pointers are currently in effect.

Let's say you want to change the Normal Select pointer. You can choose one of the pointers in the list, or you can choose a third-party cursor (provided you have some on your hard disk). To look for a pointer, click Browse, then locate and select an appropriate cursor (a *.CUR file). After you make a selection click Open, then OK.

Ever wish you could open a document with more than one application? Well, you can. Let's say you usually open text files with NotePad, but sometimes you'd like to open them using Word for Windows. To do this, open Explorer and choose View|Options. Then click File Types and locate the Text Document entry. Double-click the Text icon and when the dialog box opens, click New. In the Action text entry box, enter Open and the name of the application you want to use. In this case, you can enter Open (Word for Windows). Now click in the "Application used to perform action" text box and click Browse. Locate the application you want to use (Winword.EXE) and double-click its icon. Click OK, then click Close twice to close all the dialog boxes. To open the .TXT file with NotePad, just double-click the icon as usual. To open it with Word for Windows, right-click the document's icon and choose Open (Word for Windows).

Version 4.0

If you start the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager in Windows NT 4.0, you'll probably get the message File Manager Initialization: Unable to initialize background update support. File Manager will exit. The specified procedure could not be found.

File Manager will then close. What's happening is that the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager is not compatible with NT 4.0. There is a Version 4.0 File Manager. The file (Winfile.EXE) is dated 8/2/96 1:30 A.M. It's 250,640 bytes in length and is located in the Winnt\System32 folder. To double-check the file size, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Click the General tab to see the size in bytes.

This problem usually occurs when users set up shortcuts that point to the incorrect file. Make sure your shortcuts all point to the 8/26/96 version of File Manager.

Version 4.0

In our last tip we explained how to create a desktop shortcut to NotePad (Right click Notepad.EXE, drag to desktop, choose Create Shortcut(s) Here). Would you like to have your NotePad shortcut to save files to a specific folder? If so, right-click the shortcut and choose the Properties command from the pop-up menu. In the Properties dialog box click the Shortcut tab. Now click in the Start In text box and type in the desired folder name and path. For example, if you want the files to save in the Data folder on Drive C, you'd enter

c:\Data

then click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

If you need to choose between two folders, you can create another NotePad shortcut and set its Start In folder to another folder name. For example, if you enter

c:\Keep

the files will be saved to the Keep folder. Choose which shortcut to use depending on the folder in which you want to save the files.

You'll have to name the shortcuts differently of course. Something like Data Files and Keep Files will work.

A reader points out that you can use printer names longer than 12 characters on NT servers. True, but if you have to do this, you need to be aware that although Windows NT Workstation can see the long names, Windows 95 can't. If you use such names with Windows 95, make sure you keep the names

shorter than 12 characters.

Version 4.0

Windows NT 4.0 doesn't need, or use, Win.INI. All the information NT needs is in the Registry. If you install Windows NT 4.0 over a Windows 3.x installation, the setup program extracts needed information from Win.INI, System.INI, Progman.INI, Control.INI, Winfile.INI, and System.INI during the installation. Win.INI and System.INI remain only to provide backward compatibility with those older programs that need them.

Version 4.0

Let's suppose that you opened a floppy disk to see what's on it and then you decide to format it. You right-click the Floppy drive icon and choose Format. All looks well, but when you start formatting, Windows NT will decline to continue.

The reason is that you can't format a floppy disk that's open. To format the disk, close any window that displays the floppy's contents. Now choose Format again and all will proceed as it should.

Version 4.0

Let's say you're using the mouse to drag an object from one place to another when you realize you don't want to make that move at all. Don't panic, just keep holding down that mouse button and press Esc to cancel the move (or copy). Now release the mouse button. And now for today's tip...

Version 4.0

If you need some quick help on how to use an MS-DOS command in the Command Prompt window, at the prompt type

Command /?

in which Command is the name of the command you need to use. When you press Enter, you'll get information on how to use the command.

You can also get help by clicking the Command Prompt's Command button, then choosing Properties. When the dialog box opens, click Help. When finished using Help, click OK or Cancel to close the dialog box.

If you'd like to print documents using the drag-and-drop method, you need to make the printer icon readily available. The best way to handle this is to place a shortcut to the printer on your desktop.

To do this, click Start and choose Printers. When the Printers window opens, use the right mouse button to drag the printer to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

To do this, click Start and choose Printers. When the Printers window opens, use the right mouse button to drag the printer to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

Now all you have to do is drag documents to the printer icon to print them. The documents, however, must be registered files that will open the appropriate application.

If you'd like to quickly open a folder in Explorer view, select the folder, hold down the Shift key, and double-click the folder. You can open Start in Explorer view by right-clicking Start, then choosing Explore.

Version 4.0

Whenever you make a change to your hardware or software setup, you should also update your Emergency Repair disk. To do this, insert the Repair disk into the floppy disk drive and click Start. Choose Help, then click the Index tab. Type Repair Disk and click Display. Click the Repair Disk button. When the dialog box opens, click Update Repair Info. When the operation finishes, click Exit. If another dialog box appears asking if you want to create a Repair disk, click No. Now close Help.

Version 4.0

Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to deliver Friday's Windows NT tip. We apologize for the interruption in service.

Some time ago we published a tip showing how to adjust the command prompt in Windows NT. Several subscribers have requested additional information, so here's a list of prompt commands.

Command/Result

$A & Ampersand

$B | Pipe

$C ( Open parenthesis

$D Current date

$E Escape code (ASCII code 27)

$F ) Close parenthesis

$G > greater-than sign

$H Backspace (erases previous character)

$L < Less-than sign

$N Current drive

$P Current drive with path

$Q = Equal sign

$S Space

$T Current time

$V Windows NT version number

$_ Carriage return and linefeed

$$ $ Dollar sign

Here's an example of how to use the prompt command. Go to the Command Prompt window and type

prompt $D$S$T$S$V$_$P$G

at the prompt. Now press Enter to produce the command prompt shown here:

Fri 08/22/1997 10:29:46.17 Windows NT Version 4.0

C:\>

Versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0

If you run CHKDSK /F /R from a command prompt, the system asks if you want to run CHKDSK the next time you start the system. Suppose you answer Yes and then later decide that you'd rather not run CHKDSK on the next restart.

To stop a scheduled CHKDSK, you have to edit the Registry. So be careful.

Run RegEdit32 and navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager. Now double-click on BootExecute. When the dialog box opens, change the value to autocheck autochk *. and click on OK. Close RegEdit32. When you restart, CHKDSK /F will not run.

Version 4.0

When you want to run a program that you know is available but isn't in the Start menu, you don't have to search the disk for the file. Instead, click on Start|Run and type in the file name. For example, if you want to run RegEdit, click on Start|Run, type in RegEdit and press Enter.

This works for Registered programs that are in the path. You can also use this method to run programs that don't require Registry entries provided they are either in the path, or you supply the full path and file name.

Version 4.0

Yesterday's tip showed you how to create a batch file that clears the Documents menu. If you'd like to have Zap.BAT automatically clear the Documents menu so you can start with a clean slate every day, place a shortcut to Zap into the Start Up folder. Once again, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Then click Shortcut and choose Minimized from the Run list box. Click OK to close the dialog box and record your changes. Warning: Don't forget that Zap will permanently delete all files in the target folder. Make

absolutely sure you have entered the correct path.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to clear the Documents menu with a simple double-click, you can write a batch file such as the one shown here. To write the batch file, open NotePad and type

move d:\winnt\profiles\YourProfile\recent\*.* c:\recycled

where YourProfile is your personal profile name.

Now name the file Zap.BAT and save it in the folder of your choice. Next, create a shortcut and place it on the desktop. Right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, then choose Minimized in the Run list box. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now you can double-click the Zap icon to clear the Documents menu.

Warning: Make sure you get the correct profile folder in Zap's path, since this permanently deletes all files in the target folder. These files do not go to the Recycle Bin--they are gone.

Version 4.0

To revisit documents you click Start|Documents and make your choice. The only problem with Documents is that the menu can get rather full after a while. To clean out this list and make a new, um, start, click Start|Settings|Taskbar, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click Clear, then OK to clear the documents menu.

OOOPS

On Tuesday, we failed to send some of you the NT tip of the day. Here's the tip we owe you. Sorry about that.

If you really liked Program Manager and don't want to give it up quite yet, open My Computer, double-click the Win NT drive (probably C:) and navigate to the Winnt folder. Double-click Winnt, then double-click System32. Locate Progman.EXE and right-click it, then drag its icon to the desktop. Release the

mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

You can now double-click the shortcut to open Program Manager. You'll have to set it up since it isn't aware of anything that's currently on the desktop.

Version 4.0

To revisit documents you click Start|Documents and make your choice. The only problem with Documents is that the menu can get rather full after a while. To clean out this list and make a new, um, start, click Start|Settings|Taskbar, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click Clear, then OK to clear the documents menu.

OOOPS

On Tuesday, we failed to send some of you the NT tip of the day. Here's the tip we owe you. Sorry about that.

GOT A THING FOR YOUR PROGRAM MANAGER?

If you really liked Program Manager and don't want to give it up quite yet, open My Computer, double-click the Win NT drive (probably C:) and navigate to the Winnt folder. Double-click Winnt, then double-click System32. Locate Progman.EXE and right-click it, then drag its icon to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

You can now double-click the shortcut to open Program Manager. You'll have to set it up since it isn't aware of anything that's currently on the desktop.

Version 4.0

If you've put some stuff in your Start menu that you no longer need, here's how to get rid of it. Right-click Start and choose Explore. Now double-click Programs, then select and delete the items you no longer need. Note: All the items in Start should be shortcuts, so double-check to make sure you're not deleting an original file.

Version 4.0

Reader D. Bauman reports that when you run large applications, you can free up some memory by simply minimizing the applications you're not currently using. To test this, open several large appslications. Now right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager. Click the Process tab, then click Mem Usage to sort by size so you can easily see how much memory your applications are using. Now minimize the applications and check the memory usage again. You'll find that the usage drops significantly when you minimize them. For example, we found that Word for Windows uses 1210 Kb as an active window and only 228 Kb when minimized.

Version 4.0

Deleting files sends them by default to the Recycle Bin, where you can still get them back if need be. If you want to trash a file, knowing that you'll never want to see it again, select it, hold down Shift and press Delete. Gone-zo.

Version 4.0

Ordinarily, all files deleted from floppy disk drives are gone forever. However, if you like, you can send these files to the Recycle Bin indirectly and provide yourself with some deletion protection. Create a new folder on your desktop and name it Trash. Now move files from the floppy to Trash where you can keep them until it's safe to delete them. Then you can move them to the Recycle Bin where you'll still have some protection.

Version 4.0

We recently reported that you can change your Windows NT Workstation startup by opening the Control Panel, then double-clicking the System icon. You can also modify startup by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Properties, then clicking the Startup/Shutdown tab.

Version 4.0

Need to know how much space a selection of folders and/or files takes up on your hard drive? If so, open Explorer and hold down Ctrl as you select objects. Then right-click any of the objects and choose Properties. You'll get a dialog box that displays the total size of all the selected objects.

Version 4.0

If you've just ran a Find that you know you'll need again, keep it around for future use. It's a lot quicker than having to type in all those conditions again.

Once you've completed your search, choose File|Save Search. Doing so places an icon that represents that Find on the desktop. (Of course, you can move it wherever you want, such as into a folder you've set up for Finds.) To conduct the same search in the future, double-click the shortcut. Find will open with all the conditions set--all you have to do is click Find.

Version 4.0

Here are some more of the PowerToys collection of utilities that will run in indows NT, along with the ones we've already discussed (TweakUI, DeskMenu, and FlexiCD).

Cabview -allows you to view cabinet files

SendTo X -adds extra SendTo commands

Send To Any Folder

Send To Clipboard as Contents

Send To Clipboard as Name

Send To Command Line

FindX - Lets you add custom commands to your Find menu. To start you off,

FindX ships with:

Find On the Internet (requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or 4.0)

Find In the Knowledge Base -- Lets you access Microsoft's online database.

Find Address - Requires Microsoft Exchange

Find Email Message - Also requires Microsoft Exchange

DOSHere - Lets you right-click on a folder and start an MS-DOS prompt right there.

Version 4.0

There's a useful utility called ShowFonts that is very handy for those of us with a large font collection. ShowFonts lets you print a list with samples of all your fonts without having to load and print each one separately. ShowFonts is freeware. The file is 452KB long. You'll find it at

You don't necessarily have to open a folder or Windows NT Explorer to check a file's properties. You can check the item in the Start menu as well. Click on Start, Programs, and then select one you'd like to check and right-click on its icon in the menu. When the menu opens, choose Properties.

This is a helpful method to employ when you want to find a file's location. Right-click on it in the Start menu, choose Properties, and then click on the Shortcut tab. In Shortcut, click on Find Target and Windows NT will take you there.

Version 4.0

After a while, your Start menu will begin to fill up. When you have so many programs on the Start menu that it takes a few minutes just to locate the one you want to use, you will probably want to delete some of the programs that you seldom use. Many of us place our most-used programs in desktop folders and don't really need to have them duplicated in the Start menu. The easiest way to get rid of some of these files is to right-click on Start and choose Open All Users. When the window opens, you can select the programs you want to delete and press Delete.

The icons in the Start menu should be shortcuts. However, some programs might actually install themselves in the Start folder. So, make sure that the icons you're deleting are shortcuts. Any icons that are not shortcuts you need to keep.

By the way, this is one reason to not get rid of those little shortcut arrows. If you use TweakUI, it's best to select the arrows, or at least the light arrows.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to temporarily change the application opened by a certain type of file, you can do it without first loading the application. All you have to do is click on the file's icon to select it, then right-click on the file while you hold down the Shift key. When the menu opens, select Open With. Locate the program you want to associate with this file type and select it. The file will open using the newly selected application--assuming that application can open the file.

Version 4.0

If you'd like to try the scientific version of the Windows NT 4.0 calculator, open the calculator and choose View, Scientific. If you're not entirely sure what some of the keys do, you can right-click on the key to open the single-entry What's This? menu. Click on What's This? And you'll get an explanation of the key's operation.

For example, if you're not sure which version of log the log button performs, right-click on log and choose What's This? And you'll find that log calculates log to the base 10.

In a recent tip, we referred to a neat program called Showfonts. In that tip, we referred to Showfonts as "freeware," when it is in fact shareware. Showfonts costs $5. As its author, Martin Wallen, points out, there is a new version available: version 1.4. If you're interested in Showfonts, you can snag it at

Several readers have asked about adding the Control Panel to the Start menu so that it directly displays the components rather than having to go to Settings and then open Control Panel. You can place individual Control Panel items into the Start menu quite easily.

To do this, open Control Panel and select the items that you most often use. Drag those items to the Start button and release the mouse button. Now they'll appear in the Start menu for immediate use.

This will work for only a few Control Panel items, because putting them all in the Start menu would make it too crowded. However, consider this: Most people frequently use Add/Remove Programs, System, and perhaps Date/Time. The others are generally used very infrequently.

Version 4.0

When you inadvertently delete files, they go to the Recycle Bin. To recover the files, double-click on the Recycle Bin and select the files you want to keep. Next choose File, Restore. Frequently, the files you want to recover reside in the Recycle Bin along with a large collection of files you want to delete forever. To select only the files you want to restore, click on the first one and then hold down the Ctrl key while you select each of the files you want to restore. After you've selected them, click on File, Restore. All the selected files will be transferred back to the folder from which they came.

Version 4.0

If you want to decide where your MS-DOS window will open, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click on Console. When the dialog box opens, click on Layout and deselect the "Let system position window" check box. Now use the spin boxes to set the window's position.

Version 4.0

When you decide to place a shortcut on your desktop, you'll often find it convenient to work with an existing shortcut. For example, if you open the MS Office folder, you'll find shortcuts to all the Office applications. To place them on the desktop, select them and then right-drag them to their target folder. When you release the mouse button, the menu will open. Choose Copy Here. You'll have no problems with copied shortcuts as long as the originals stay in place.

Version 4.0

The final version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is ready. And it runs fine in Windows NT 4.0 (you do need to apply Service Pack 3). If you don't have your copy yet, go to

to download a copy. It is a long download, and you can optionally get the CD for $5 shipping and handling. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is more than just a new browser--it will also enhance your Windows NT 4.0 desktop. It's definitely worth a look.

Version 4.0

We've mentioned in the past that TweakUI from PowerToys works in Windows NT 4.0. You can also use FlexiCD and DeskMenu. FlexiCD places an icon in the taskbar from which you can control your audio discs. DeskMenu places an icon in the taskbar that will give you access to the desktop from a menu on the toolbar.

To install these two utilities, put your PowerToys disk into Drive A and right-click on Deskmenu.inf. When the menu opens, select Install. To install FlexiCD, open the PowerToys floppy, right-click on Flexicd.inf, and choose Install from the menu.

What's not supported in Windows NT 4.0? Clock, Tapinta, QuickRes, and Xmouse.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Setting up HyperTerminal - 11/24/97]

If you don't spend a great amount of time connecting to bulletin boards, you might want to consider using HyperTerminal for your connections. HyperTerminal can do a creditable job of reading information and downloading and uploading files.

If HyperTerminal isn't installed on your computer, click on Star, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click on Add/Remove Programs. When the dialog box opens, click on the Windows NT Setup tab. Double-click on Communications and select HyperTerminal. Click on OK. and when you get back to the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, click on OK again to

start the installation. You'll need to put your Windows NT 4.0 CD into the CD-ROM drive.

To set up HyperTerminal, click on Start, Programs, Accessories, HyperTerminal, HyperTerminal and then type in a name for your new connection. Now type in the phone number and click on OK. Next, click on Modify and add all the necessary information (this is dependent on your setup). When you've entered all the parameters, let HyperTerminal dial the number and connect to that BBS.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Matching title backgrounds to wallpaper - 11/25/97]

If you use no wallpaper and no background pattern, then your desktop icon titles will use the default background color. If you decide to use wallpaper, your icon titles will continue to use the default background colors, which usually won't match the wallpaper color.

If you'd like to make the title backgrounds match the wallpaper, run Microsoft Paint and load your wallpaper file (it's in the Winnt folder). We used Solstice as our example wallpaper.

Now, select the Pick Up tool (it looks like an eyedropper) and click on what appears to be the most prevalent wallpaper color. Next, choose Options, Edit Colors, and then click on Define Custom Colors. In this dialog box, you'll see values for the primary colors (red, green, and blue). Copy these values and close Paint.

Next, right-click on the desktop and choose Properties. Then, click on the Appearance tab. Now click on the arrow beside the Color list box to expand it and then click on Other. Double-click on the Red value and change it to the value you copied from Microsoft Paint. Press Tab to get to, and select, the Green value and enter the copied green value. Then press Tab again to get to the Blue value and type that in. Click on OK, and when you get back to the Display Properties dialog box click on OK again.

Now your icon title colors will match the wallpaper colors (the color you selected anyway). Of course, the busier the wallpaper, the harder it is to get a good match, but at least you won't have blue on brown.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Setting your sort options - 11/26/97]

Did you know you can customize the DIR command? You can set the DIR sort options so that when you do a DIR, the files will appear in the order you specify. To do this, type

Set dircmd=\o:xxx /a

at the command prompt. For xxx substitute from the following list:

N - sorts by name

E - sorts by extension

D - sorts by date

S - sorts by size

A - sorts by last access date

G - sorts by groups directories first

To group the directories first and then sort by name, and then by date, you'd enter

Set dircmd=\o:GND /a

To force a reverse order, use a minus sign before the letter. The command

Set dircmd=\o:-N /a

Will tell DIR to sort by name starting with Z moving to A.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Eliminating Windows NT startup screen - 12/1/97]

You may have heard that you can eliminate, or change, the Windows 95 startup and shutdown screens. You never hear anything about Windows NT, though. Windows NT doesn't have a shutdown screen, but it does have a startup screen. If you'd like to eliminate this screen completely, open Windows NT Explorer and locate the Winnt folder. Now find the winnt.bmp and winnt256.bmp files and rename them. You can just change the extension if you like and name them winnt.old and winnt256.old. Of course, you can also substitute another .BMP file to make your own startup screen. Perhaps you'd like to use the company logo, or some personal photographs. To do this, copy your selected file into the Winnt folder and name it Winnt256.bmp. If your system is running at 256 or more colors, then you don't need to worry about winnt.bmp.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Creating a batch file for quick backups - 12/2/97]

If you commonly use Ntbackup to back up a single folder, you might like to create a simple batch file to handle the job for you. Suppose you'd like to make a daily backup of a folder named Data. Open notepad and enter

ntbackup backup c:\data /a /v /d"Data Folder" /hc:on /t daily

where /a tells the program to append the data, /v turns on the Verify operation, /d "Data Folder" is the name you want to assign, /hc:on turns on hardware compression (if available), and /t:daily specifies the backup type. Give your new batch file a name--back.bat will do--and save it.

Now you can open Windows NT Explorer and use the right mouse button to drag the icon to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties. Click on the Shortcut tab and then choose Run Minimized. Click on OK to close the dialog box. Now you can double-click on the Back icon (shortcut) to back up your data. Of course, you do have to have a usable tape in the drive before you

run Back.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Checking printer memory assignment - 12/3/97]

In some cases, Windows NT can assign more memory to the printer than the printer has installed. When this happens, NT will attempt to send more data than the printer can accept. If you just installed a printer and are getting errors, you should check the memory assignment.

To check the memory, click on Start and choose Settings, Printers. Click on the printer to select it and then press Enter. This opens the printer dialog box. Choose Printer, Properties and then click on the Device Settings tab. Select Installed Memory and modify it if necessary. When finished, click on OK and then close the Printer dialog box.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [NT's Stop condition - 12/4/97]

What do you do when you get a Stop condition in Windows NT? Well, you've got a few options. You can ask NT to record the Stop condition in the Event log. You can also tell NT to send a message to the administrators. Or perhaps you'd like to write debugging info. Finally, you can tell NT to reboot. If you choose to record the condition, the log will store the time of the event along with details of the event. You can choose to send a message to the administrators only if Alerter has been started. Perhaps the best choice is to reboot. With this option selected, resources such as printers are available immediately after the crash. There are some drawbacks to this choice however:

1. It may not be apparent that there's been a crash.

2. Less information gets entered into the Event log.

To make your choices, click on Start and choose Control Panel. Double-click on System and then click on the Startup/Shutdown tab. Make your selections under Recovery and then click on OK.

CORRECTION

In a recent tip, we explained how to customize NT's DIR command. That tip contained a typo that made the command syntax incorrect. Sorry for the error. Here's the correct tip in its entirety.

Version 4.0, 3.51

Did you know you can customize the DIR command? You can set the DIR sort options so that when you do a DIR, the files will appear in the order you specify. To do this, type

Set dircmd=/o:xxx /a

at the command prompt. For xxx substitute from the following list:

N - sorts by name

E - sorts by extension

D - sorts by date

S - sorts by size

A - sorts by last access date

G - sorts by groups directories first

To group the directories first and then sort by name, and then by date, you'd enter

Set dircmd=/o:GND /a

To force a reverse order, use a minus sign before the letter. The command

Set dircmd=/o:-N /a

Will tell DIR to sort by name starting with Z moving to A.

Microsoft Windows NT Tip of the Day [Adding a message to NT startup - 12/5/97]

Would you like to add a message to your Windows NT 4.0 startup? If so, you can do the job with RegEdit. As usual, we must warn you that you can damage your installation using RegEdit. So, you should be very careful when following the steps shown here.

Run RegEdit and select

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Look in the right pane for LegalNoticeText. If the string exists, double-click on its icon and then add your text. Click on OK and close RegEdit. Restart to see the changes.

If you don't see LegalNoticeText in the right pane, you'll have to create it. Click in the right pane and then choose Edit, New, String Value. Name it LegalNoticeText, add your text, and click on OK. Close RegEdit and restart the computer.