File Name: A filename can contain up to 255 characters, including spaces. But, it cannot contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > |
To quickly get the properties of any file, double-click on it while holding the ALT key.
File Types:
Pulling System Files From Cabinets
Q. Back in the good old days of Windows 3.1, there was an easy fix for those times when a corrupted Windows file kept the system from running right. All you had to do was grab your installation disks, look for the needed file (the last letter of each was replaced by an underline, signifying the file's internally compressed format), use the extract command and voilą! there was your file ready to copy into your Windows directory.
Windows 95 has changed all that by encasing its system files in .cab (cabinet) archive files. Unfortunately, some of my utilities have modified or replaced .dll files in ways that Windows 95 doesn't like. How do I find and extract a file (comdlg32.dll, for example) from these things called cabinets?
A. The extract tool in the c:\windows\ command directory knows how to retrieve files from cabinets. If you happen to know which cabinet a specific file is stored in, and where you want to copy that file to, you can do the whole operation with just one command: extract /y /l destination cabinet filename. Destination is where you want the file to end up, and cabinet is the .cab file that contains filename. The command to overwrite your installed version of comdlg32.dll (assuming that Windows is installed in the c:\windows directory and that your Windows 95 CD-ROM is in drive d:) is: extract /y /l c:\windows\ system d:\win95\ win95_10.cab comdlg32.dll.
Of course, unless you're on the Windows 95 development team, you have no idea which .cab file comdlg32.dll is stored in. Use the command extract /d cabinet filename to check each cabinet for a particular file, or extract cabinet for a complete listing of the .cab file's contents. If that seems too labor-intensive, there's a tiny Explorer add-on called CabView that lets you browse .cab files as if they were folders and copy or drag files.
CabView is one of ten quick-and-dirty Windows 95 add-ons known
collectively as Power Toys. Though they were written by Microsoft
engineers, they're not officially supported, and some are buggy, so use
them with caution. (CabView seems rock-solid, however.) You can download
specific utilities or the whole set from Microsoft's Power Toys World Wide
Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/software/powertoy.htm.
---------
Under Windows 95, DLLs are searched for in the following order:
Sysbckup (DLL files):
Under Win95 dir'y: All the original dll files are
backed up here, if install'n of some apps mess up or replaced your dll
files with older versions, can just copy all files from here to your
System dir'y.
DON'T DELETE THIS FOLDER!!
--------
Help files:
are kept in following folders: Windows, Windows\Command,
Windows\Help, Windows\system. All have extension .hlp
-------
Tmp Files:
Not wise to delete the *.tmp files in Win95\Temp folder while
Win is running. Best to restart in MS-Dos mode and type:
Winsock.dll:
When Win95 loads its (Internet) Explorer and/or Fax
server, it silently disables any existing WINSOCK.DLL files, and replaces
it with its own. If you reinstall your own again then Trumpet should work
fine.
-------
Xcopy32: Improved version of xcopy - can copy long file names.
-------
Quick View:
Can view documents created with popular Windows-based programs
w/o starting the progs- just click on the doc. in My Computer or Explorer,
the File menu/Quick View. Or R/click then select Quikview.
--------
Saving files
Right-Clicking in Save File dialog boxes:
Try it! If you are saving a file, and right-click in the dialog box, you
can change your view, arrange the icons, or create new folders prior to
saving the file.
This is great if you suddenly decide while saving that you want to save
the file in a folder that doesn't currently exist.
-------
Rename File or Folder or Icon: "H/light it then press F2 or File
menu/Rename. Or click the name twice slowly. Edit the name then
*** Perhaps You detected "SETUP" blowing up the root of your boot
hard-drive. Most of this files are no longer necessary. As we know only
Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, Io.sys, Msdos.sys and System.1st are needed.
*** Check your startup files: Some existing entries in your Autoexec.bat
and Config.sys may be superfluous, Especially when having setup WIN95 over
the old system. Following commands now are executed by Io.sys by default:
himem.sys ifshelp.sys setver.exe dos=high,umb files=60 buffers=30 fcbs=4
lastdrive=z stacks=9,256 shell=command.com /p
This settings will be overwritten by the entries of the startup files.
*** You want to know which .dll an .exe file is using?:
File Associations
To edit file associations, choose View|Options in Explorer and click the
file types tab. This method gives you the most customization control. If
you double click on an unregistered file type the Open With dialog will
appear. Checking "Always use this program to open this type of file" will
automatically register the file type. If you want to change the file's
registration, you can hold down Shift while right clicking the file, which
adds an Open With option to the context menu so you can change the
registration without hassle.
Associate File:
My Computer (or Explorer)-View-Options-File types. To change the assoc'n
for any type, highlight the file type then click Edit. In Action box,
click Open, then Edit, then specify what program to use to open this file
type.
To use a difft prog (instead of the default association) to open a doc't:
In the shortcut properties, add name of the prog. before the name of the
file in the target field. eg. C:\Win95\Notepad.exe
C:\Data\Tse\Memo.txt.
Attributes (ATTRIB):
AUTOEXEC & CONFIG:
Autoexec.bat while in Win95 is the same file as Autoexec.w40 while in Dos.
Autoexec.dos while in Win95 is the same file as Autoexec.bat while in Dos.
Same thing with Config.sys, Config.w40 & Config.Dos
Compare Files: Use Compare.exe or FC.exe in Dos. In Windows can use
Textpad.
Copy File or folder:
Copy file to floppy:
Delete File:
Undelete:
Select multiple Files or Folders:
Multiple File Registrations
Those folks who work with file formats that can be edited by more than one
application have been grumbling about the absence of multiple file
registrations in Windows 95.
Fact is, you can have multiple file
registrations quite easily. From Explorer's menu select View|Options|File
Types and find the type of file you want to work with and double click
it.
In the Edit dialog that opens you will see a box marked Actions. This is
where Win95 stores the actions to be taken when you double click on a
file, drag it to a printer, and so on. You can have more than one Open so
long as
each action is a unique character string. For example, you could edit the
BMP file type registration so that you have one entry named Open (MS Paint)
and another named Open (Paint Shop Pro).
For each entry edit the actions needed to open the file with the
appropriate application. Highlight one of the entries and click the Set
Default button. That will be the application used when you double click on
a file of that type. If, however, you right click the file, all of the
entries you placed into the Actions box will appear on the context menu
making it easy to open the file with the
application of your choice.
Bypass Delete Confirmations
Of course, you have right clicked the Recycle Bin and removed the check
from Display Delete Confirmation Dialog, but what do you do when you are
working on another machine that isn't configured to your liking?
Just hold down the Shift key while you drag the file(s) you want to delete
to the
Recycle Bin. When you drop the file onto the Recycle Bin, it is deleted
without requesting a confirmation.
CAUTION! There is one, perhaps, unexpected consequence of using this
method. Regardles of the confirmation setting, holding the Shift key down
and dragging files to Recycle Bin
prevents the files from being buffered in the bin, they are simply, and
completely, deleted altogether.
Permanently deleting files instead of sending them to the recycle bin:
Hold down the Shift-key and press Delete, or right-click on them - then
hold down the Shift-key before selecting delete from the context-menu.
Pdf files
Files with the PDF extension are created using Adobe Acrobat software. To
view these files you need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader from
http://www.adobe.com. There is also a plug-in for Netscape to view Acrobat
files called Acrobat Amber.
Log File Viewer:
Ever notice that there are a number of things in Windows
95 that allow you to create a log
file? Interestingly, finding the log file after it is created is a hassle.
Try this. Stick the Windows 95 CD in and
go to \OTHER\MISC\LOGVIEW and copy all the files to your \WINDOWS folder
on your hard disk. Then
when you run LOGVIEW.EXE, it will open up all Windows log files in a
single editor. This program is to log
files as SYSEDIT.EXE is to your system files.
After install, files that may be manually delete:
Files '95 won't delete....ie. Terminal is now replaced by Hyperterminal,
do you still need Terminal cluttering up your HD? Files '95 deletes only
if you install new versions....ie.Character Map is also offered by '95 if
you specified it replaced. If you don't use Character Map do you need this
type of file on your HD? Features dropped.......ie.Clock isn't included
with '95, so it doesn't delete them, if you don't use these, do you need
them?
Orpahans......HANDLE WITH CARE
some are key Win3.x system files, follow the orphan procedure, after
running Win95 for a month or so...
1) in MS-DOS mode check each accessed date with DIR /V filename.
*DOS BACKUP: msbackdb.ovl msbackdr.ovl msbacfb.ovl msbackfr.ovl
msbackup.exe msbackup.hlp msbackup.ini msbackup,ovl msbackup.rst
msbconfg.hlp msbconfg.ovl
*DOS ANTIVIRUS: msav.hlp msav.ini msav.exe
msavhelp.ovl msavirus.lst vsafe.com
*DOSSHELL: dosshell.com dosshell.exe
dosshell.grb dosshell.ini dosshel.vid dosshell.hlp dosswap.exe ega.sys
*QBASIC: gorilla.bas money.bas nibbles.bas qbasic.exe qbasic.hlp
remline.bas
*MEMMAKER: chkstate.sys memmaker.exe memmaker.hlp memmaker.inf
memmaker.sts sizer.exe
*UNDELETE: mirror.com mwundel.hlp mwundel.exe
undelete.exe
*INTERLINK: interink.exe intersvr.exe
*ORPHAN FILES:
appnotes.txt backup.exe cv.com dblspace.hlp dblspace.inf dblwin.hlp
defrag.hlp doshelp.exe doshelp.exe dossetup.ini drvspace.hlp drvspace.inf
help.exe keybrd2.sys msherc.com recover.exe smartdrv.sys
*OTHER DOS not in WIN95:
4201.cpi 4208.cpi 5202.cpi append.exe assign.com comp.exe
delodos.exe diskcoomp.com driver.sys edlin.exe exe2bin.exe expand.exe
fastopen.exe graftabl.com graphics.com graphics.pro join.exe icd.cpi
loadfix.com monoumb.386 mstools.dll power,exe print.exe printer.sys
printfix.com replace.exe restore.exe setup.exe smartmon.exe smartmon.hlp
tree.com unformat.com
-- for other DOS files, after a month check with a dir /v from a dos
prompt, if it is blank move to a temp dir (folder), and if you have no
problems, 86 them.
2) if the access date is blank, (hasn't been accessed for the month) then
move to a TEMPORARY dir.
3) if the system runs good for another month you can probably safely
delete the files.
Dates of importance for /windows /windows/system files
03-10-92 Win3.1 files
12-31-93 Win3.11
09-30-92 WFWG3.1
11-01-93 WFWG3.11
*Files WINDOWS 95 won't delete*
FAX-- awcas.dll awfaxio.dll dilsched.dll efaxrun.dll faxmgr.exe faxstub.dll
keyview.exe netfax.dll awclass1.dll awfxprot.dll efaxdrv.drv fax.cpl
faxsnp.dll faxview.exe lineariz.dll sigview.exe awclass2.dll awt30.dlle
faxpump.dll faxcover.dll faxopt.dll ifkernel,dll msfax.hlp
MAIL-- impexp.dll msmail.hlp mail.wri wgpomgr.dll msmail.exe
TERMINAL-- terminal.exe terminal.hlp WIN BACKUP-- mwbackf.dll mwbackup.hlp
mwbackr.dll vfintd.386 mwbackup.exe
*Files '95 deletes only with new versions*
CHAR MAP-- charmap.exe
*Features 86ed from '95 (taken out of win95)*
WIN ANTIVIRUS-- mwavabsi.dll mwavdrvi.dll mwavmgr.dll mwavtree.dll
mwavdlg.dll mvav.exe mwavscan.dll mwavtsr.exe mwavdosi.dll mwav.hlp
mwavsos.dll mwgrafic.dll
**Orphan Files**
ab.dll cpqvga.gr3 glossary.hlp lm21drv.upd mailspl.exe pabnsp.dll rmm.d32
smc8000w.386 tim17521.wpdvddxga.386 vpmtd.386 wfwnetcp.hlp write.hlp
cmc.dll demilayr.dll hpeisa.386 mach.3gr mssfs.dll progman.hlp sconfig.dll
sound.drv v7vga.3gr vforms.dll wfwaudit.dll win.cnf xga.drv cpqgr3.exe
framewrk.dll hpisa.386 mailmgr.dll ncdw.dll rasmac.386 sendfile.dll
store.dll vddsvga.386 vga.3gr wfwnet.cpx winfile.hlp
Do I still need CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT?
Windows95 comes with Plug-&-Play, as well as drivers for most of your
hardware. This means, quite simply, that you can throw away most of the
contents of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files (despite what the folks
at Apple tell you).
The problem with the driver's you've got already
loaded in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, is that they're most likely real
mode, 16-bit drivers for DOS. The drivers that come with Windows95 offer
easier installation, better compatibility, plug-&-play, and better
performance.
Follow these guidelines for removing the old drivers from
your start-up files (experienced users only):
Ideally, you should delete CONFIG.SYS altogether, and should
have nothing but your PATH in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Generally, your CONFIG.SYS includes drivers for your disk
cache, CD-ROM, sound card, syquest drive, scanner, as well as a myriad of
parameters like Files=50, Buffers=20, and so on. Windows95 replaces most
of these.
Make sure you back up both files before doing anything.
Otherwise, you'll be sorry.
Start off by putting the word "rem" in front of every entry in
CONFIG.SYS, and restart your computer. (this turns the lines into
"remarks")
When Windows95 starts, it automatically scans your computer
for any device without a driver, and install drivers as needed. The only
problem is when Windows95 doesn't have the correct drivers. See the note
below regarding CD-ROM drivers.
Once in Windows95, try out all your devices. If a device
works, take out the driver from CONFIG.SYS. If not, remove the "rem" text
you've placed in front of it.
The same process applies to AUTOEXEC.BAT, with the exception
of the PATH statement. For some mysterious reason, it never occurred to
the folks at Microsoft to include Windows support for the good 'ol PATH.
(refer to your DOS manual for more information on the path statement.)
Slowly, as manufacturers release native Windows95 drivers for
their hardware, you'll be able to do away with both CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Note: If you have a CD-ROM drive, odds are that you have a
CD-ROM driver in CONFIG.SYS.
However, when you go to remove the driver,
Windows95 asks for the original installation disks so that it can install
its own CD-ROM driver. This doesn't work too well if you're installing
from CD-ROM!
To get around this design limitation, you must install a
Windows95 CD-ROM driver before removing the CONFIG.SYS driver.
Double-click on Add/Remove Hardware in Control Panel, and add a driver for
your CD-ROM. If your CD-ROM drive isn't listed, you'll have to contact the
manufacturer for a Windows95 driver.
Once you've installed the driver,
remove it from CONFIG.SYS before rebooting. Note that this will disable
DOS support for your CD-ROM outside of Windows. Be aware that would won't
have this problem if you have a SCSI CD-ROM drive. (more information from
Microsoft)
Note: If you think that keeping these old drivers loaded is a
good idea in case you need to re-install Windows95, you are mistaken. You
will have better performance and stability if you use the native Windows95
drivers. However, I strongly recommend copying all your old drivers to a
bootable floppy, so they are available in the event of of an emergency,
such as a disk crash. No, Windows95 does not do this automatically.
Note: Refer to Unsupported Devices in Windows95 for a growing
list of unsupported devices in Windows95.
Note: To configure Windows95 to automatically load certain DOS
drivers when you exit Windows95, right click on the Exit to Dos shortcut
located in your Windows directory, and click Properties. Click on the
Program tab, click Advanced, select Specify a new MS-DOS configuration,
and enter any desired drivers as though they were loaded in CONFIG.SYS or
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Opening Folders Nicely: If you want to open a sub-folder and have
the
parent folder automatically close, hold the ctrl key down as you
double-click to open the new folder.
Your Favorite Way to Browse
What happens if you double-click a folder inside a standard, single-pane
folder window (the kind you get when you double-click My Computer)? Most
likely, the folder you've clicked will open up in a separate window.
If you'd rather have the current window change to show the contents of the
new folder, select View/Options from any folder window and click the
Folders tab. Click Browse folders by using a single window that changes as
you open each folder, then click OK. This will change not only the current
folder but also your default.
Override Your Browse Mode
Whether you use single-window or multiple-windows mode (as set in
View/Options' Folders tab) to browse single-pane folder windows, you can
choose the alternative view whenever you open a folder. Just hold down
[Ctrl] as you double-click a folder or drive icon. If your options are set
for a single window, a new window will open; and if your options are set
for multiple windows, the current window will show the desired folder's
contents.
Clean Up Folder Windows
If you browse through folder windows in multiple-window mode (as set in
the Folders tab when you choose View/Options), your desktop can get
cluttered pretty quickly. To close not only the current folder window but
all "parent" folder windows you opened on the way there, hold down [Shift]
as you click the close box on the far right of the current window's title
bar.
I'm surprised there is no simple method to cause a parent Window to close
when selecting a subdirectory, at least not without changing the system
default.
Hmmmm.... Try this: Set the Folder Options for Browsing to use a separate
window for each folder. Double-click My Computer. Double-click C-drive.
Double-click Win95 folder. Double-click Recent folder. Oops, I wanted to
goto the SendTo folder.
Click the Close button. Double-click SendTo
folder. Ahh, this is the folder I wanted to work on. Now let's close-up
those other opened folders. Shift-left-click on the Win95 folder's Close
button (neat, can the Mac do that?). OR Set the Folder Options for
Browsing to use a single window that changes as you open each folder.
Double-click My Computer. Double-click C-drive. Double-click Win95 folder.
Double-click Recent folder. Oops, I wanted to goto the SendTo folder. Hit
the Backspace key (back to the Win95 folder). Double-click SendTo folder.
Ahh, this is the folder I wanted to work on.
Create new Folder
In My Computer or Windows Explorer, open the folder in which you want to
create a new folder.On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
The new folder appears with a temporary name. Type a name for the new
folder, and then press ENTER.
Keep Fonts from Disappearing
If you install a generic Textmode Printer into Windows 95 and choose it as
default you will not see any of your TrueType Fonts in programs like Word
6.0 or Wordpad.
Delete the Printer or Install another one like HP Deskjet and make it the
default printer to regain access to your fonts.
While playing around with my system I discovered that the min, max, and
close buttons in the right of the Title Bar are sized proportionally to
the size of the font chosen for the Title Bar.
So, if you are using a high res screen setting and are having a hard time
acurately hitting the buttons, select a larger Title bar font.
This also effects the size of the font in the task bar, allowing you to
see more of the application name if you choose a smaller font.
Right Click Desktop, Select PROPERTIES, then APPEARANCE, Item: ACTIVE
TITLE BAR, then choose the font you want - I find Arial the easiest to
read. P.S. This also works for MENU fonts as well, which *really* helps at
1280 X 1024!
You can change the size of the title bar (and the buttons along with it)
independently of the font size. Go back to the properties screen you
describe and experiment with changing the size of the 'Item', as opposed
to the 'Font'. While it's true that making the font large will increase
the size of the title bar, if you just want the buttons bigger, you don't
have to make the font bigger...
*** I am having a slight problem. The "disabled" text color on menus,
buttons, and in dialog boxes is the same color as my background. I have
not changed any of my screen colors since I installed Windows '95 in
April. Everything was fine until I added more memory to my system... I
have looked in the Display option in the control pannel, and I can change
every other color. I also looked in he registery, (yeah, that was fun),
but could not find anything... Thanks for any help in advance!
I know a good challenge when I see it...found the answer to this one in
the win.ini of all places. Remember that file which is only included for
backwards compatability? Under the section [colors] the line "graytext="
sets the colors for disabled text. I use a gray menu so my entries are
Menu=192 192 192
The trick is you can NOT have Drive A open in the Explorer, nor can you
use left mouse button to highlight Drive A if you want to format the
floppy disk. If Drive A is open, click on Drive C first to close Drive A.
Then, use the right mouse button to click on Drive A and choose Format
from the drop-down menu.
Format:
Double-click the My Computer icon, and then click the icon for the
disk you want to format. Be sure not to double-click the disk icon,
because you can't format a disk if it is open in My Computer or Windows
Explorer. On the File menu, click Format.
You can do formatting even while Comm program runs in the b/ground.
There have been quite a few messages lately about how to use XCOPY to
copy files to a new hard disk and then move the new disk in place as
your main hard drive. Much of the discussion relates to the keeping of
long file names and the problem of locked files, hidden files, system
files, etc.
I just completed this task today in a rather painless fashion and
thought I'd pass on how I did it.
Set up the new drive as slave, configured it in CMOS and FDISKed and
formatted the new drive with the /s option.
Went into Windows and loaded up Windows Commander (shareware file
manager that provides a 2-panel view). Had my drive C in one panel and
drive D in the other.
Tagged all the files in the root directory of C and copied them to the
root of D.
Highlighted each top-level directory and hit F5 to copy the directory
and it's contents to Drive D. This program sees ALL files - hidden,
system, whatever. Even the 4 cache directories below "Temporary Internet
Files" show up. It also handles long file names without problem. The
only file it refused to handle was the swap file (no big deal - it
provides a skip option when it hits such files).
Made sure I had a boot disk with FDISK on it.
Shut down and removed drive C, changed the jumpers on drive D to say it
was the master drive, rebooted and changed the drive parameters in CMOS.
Re-booted and went into FDISK to make the partition on drive D active.
Rebooted. Everything done and working fine.
-------
-------
-------
In explorer:
right-click on it and choose QuickView. The Import Table will show you the
list of dll's being called by the .exe.
-------
-------
To change Attributes of a GROUP of files: Use Dos ATTRIB command or the
old File manager. Explorer can only do one file at a time: R/click on
filename, Properties.
---------
--------
---------
Same as copy/paste text: H/lite file/folder in Explorer or My Computer &
Edit/copy then open another folder & Edit/Paste. OR: use Right mouse to
drag to new location. OR: Ctrl+Drag with Left mouse. To copy to another
Drive, just drag with Left mouse.
-------
My Computer or Explorer, click the file name, File menu, point to Send To,
then click the drive to copy to.
-------
H/lite filename & press Del: will move it to Recycle bin, can still retore
it. To delete fr. H/disk: H/lite it & press Shift+Del or: Shift+drag it
with Left mouse to Recycle bin.
--------
If a file is purged from the Recycle bin, can still get it back quickly
(b4 it's overwritten by new files) using the Undelete.exe from the old Dos
folder (copy the file to Win95\Command first so it will be found when
called at the Dos prompt), click Start/Shutdown, choose: Restart in MS-Dos
mode. At the Dos prompt, type Lock, then Undelete. When done, type Unlock
then TYPE "Exit" to relaunch to Win95.
---------
Non-contiguous: Ctrl-click each one.
Contiguous: click first one then Shift-click the other end.
To select ALL: Edit menu/Select All. Or press Ctrl-A.
To select a few groups: Click, Shift click (get 1st group). Then
Ctrl-click, then Ctrl-Shift-Click (get 2nd group) etc.
---------
-------
--------
--------
-------
-------
CHAT-- ringin.wav winchat.hlp ringout.wav winchat.exe
CLIPBOARD-- clipsrv.exe clipbrd.ini clipbrd.exe clipbrd.hlp
HEARTS-- cards.dll mshearts.exe mshearts.hlp
MINESWEEP-- winmine.exe winmine.hlp
NETWATCH-- netwatch.exe netwatch.hlp
NETWORK DDE-- nddeapi.dll nddenb.dll netdde.exe
SOLITARE--sol.exe sol.hlp
WINDOWS POPUP--winpopup.hlp winpopup.exe
CALENDER-- calendar.exe calendar.hlp
CARDFILE-- cardfile.exe cardfile.hlp
CLOCK-- clock.exe
RECORDER-- recorder.dll recorder.exe recorder.hlp
SCHEDULE+-- msremind.exe schdplus.exe trnsched.dll mssched.dll
schdplus.hlp schedmsg.dll trnoff.dll
--------
(fr. Windows95 Annoyances)FOLDER
Folder Properties: To see how many files and subfolders there are
in a
folder, R/click the folder icon or the client area of the folder window
then select Properties.
--------
-------
------
-------
--------FONTS
Install/Remove: Control Panel- Fonts folder- File menu- Install new
fonts
----------
--------
--------
GrayText=128 128 128
My guess is that yours both read the same numbers. Hope this works for you.
FORMATTING
How to Reformat a Formatted Floppy Disk in Explorer
------HARDWARE
Subject: HARDWARE: Switching to a new drive - (From the Win95
List)