SuperFiles.com: Customize Tips

Change your MTU settings for Win95 slip

To set the MTU use the following method:

Open Regedit
hkey_local_machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\000n
add a value, MaxMTU=16-bit integer

This 16-bit integer specifies the maximum size datagram IP that can pass to a media driver. SNAP and source routing headers (if used on the media) are not included in this value. For example, on an ethernet network, MaxMTU will default to 1500. The actual value used will be the minimum of the value specified with this parameter and the size reported by the media driver. The default is the size reported by the media driver.

Modifying Windows 95's TCP/IP Packet Size

Try editing the Registry, specifically this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\ Create/edit the key "DefaultRcvWindow" with a string value set to the packet size, e.g. "8192".

Setting "refresh rate" for console windows

Add a "WindowsUpdateTime" key in the [386Enh] section the SYSTEM.INI file then reboot your system. For example:

WindowsUpdateTime=10

The value is the refresh rate in ms. E.g. 10 means, update contents of console windows every 10ms. NOTE: Using values less than 15-20ms needs a fast machine and a fast videocard! Otherwise your system will really become very slow, when a DOS-Box or Win32-Console-Application is running.

An Icon to Restart Windows

@EXIT
Save the file anywhere you want with an appropriate name, such as RESTART.BAT, and close Notepad. Find the new file in Explorer and place a shortcut to it on the desktop. Close Explorer and rename the new shortcut. Click the shortcut with the right mouse button, choose Properties, and on the Program tab, select the Close on Exit option. Click Advanced, select MS-DOS mode, and deselect Warn before entering MS-DOS mode. Click OK twice. Ready to restart Windows 95? Double-click your new desktop icon!

Booting to DOS

You may boot to DOS by adding the line, BOOTMENU=1, under the "options" section of your CONFIG.SYS or MSDOS.SYS.

Bitmap as Icon

Instead of the Paint program icon to which BMP files are registered, you can have a small thumbnail of the actual file! It makes sorting and viewing BMP's super easy.

Open regedit and Find Paint.Picture or whichever program BMP's are registered to.
Add a New Key under Paint.Picture, "DefaultIcon".
In the right pane, change the Default Value (by double clicking it) to "%1".

%1 tells Windows the default icon for this file type is in the file itself. Since there is no icon in a BMP file, Windows95 makes a small preview image of the BMP for the icon.

Fast name change

LEFT click on the file, folder, or desktop item as you normally would to select it. Wait a moment, long enough for Windows to know that you aren't double clicking it, and LEFT click again. The file, folder or desktop item is now ready for a name change. Or the fastest way: Choose the file you want to change the name on, and press F2.

Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin icons

Open Regedit
Find My Computer or Recycle Bin
Tab to the left panel
Double click on the highlighted line
Double click on DefaultIcon in the left panel
Double click on DefaultIcon right panel
Type in the value for the new icon
Note: DLL files can be used. Specify the location of the new icon with the filename, #

Change Registered User Info

When Win95 installs, you entered your user info. Change this user info by: Starting the Registry Editor. Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion. Notice the RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner string values. To change these values, right-mouse click it, select Modify Type new information on the Value data line. Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Refresh the Desktop without Restarting Windows

The results of some of the procedures explained in Tips & Tricks for Windows95 will not take effect until you either restart Windows, or refresh the desktop. These include any changes to the system registry or any system folders. To refresh the desktop without restarting Windows, click on any open area of your Desktop or any icon on your Desktop with the left mouse button and press F5.

Change the Size and Spacing of Desktop Icons

Although Windows doesn't let you easily change the size or spacing of the icons on the desktop, it can be done. Here are 2 alternatives:

EASY METHOD: Simply adjust it in the Control Panel under Display/Appearance/Item/.

HARD METHOD: Note that entries not covered below may be adjusted through the Control Panel.

Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Control panel\ desktop\ WindowMetrics.
Double click on any of the following values to change them:
1. IconSpacing: horizontal space between desktop icons, in twips (there are between 12 and 15 twips per pixel, depending on your video driver).
2. IconVerticalSpacing: vertical space between desktop icons, in twips.
3. Shell Icon Size: horizontal and vertical size of desktop icons, in pixels.
After you have entered a new value, press OK and then close the Registry Editor and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

Create a Popup Menu

C:\Windows\Explorer.exe C:\
Followed by the path of the folder you'd like the My Folder item to point to. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. Click My Computer with the right-mouse button and select your new My Folder item to display it on the screen.

Turn off Auto Load of Windows 95

To turn off the Auto Load feature of Windows95, add the following line under "options" section of your CONFIG.SYS or MSDOS.SYS:

[options]
BootGUI=0

Fast Control Panel

Create a new folder called: "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Now it should look like the normal Control Panel icon (not a shortcut). Now right click on "Start" in the Taskbar and click on "Open" to invoke a "Start Menu" folder window. Drag the new Control Panel folder from the Desktop to the Start Menu folder. Now when you click on "Start", you should see Control Panel on the drop-down menu. Click on Control Panel and its contents will be displayed. You can do the same with the Printers and Dial-Up Networking folders. Here are shortcut names:

For Control Panel
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

For Dial Up Networking
Dial Up Net.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}

For Printers
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

Expand your Taskbar

Ever have a lot of programs open, and the taskbar is so bunched with "icons" you can't read the titles? Make it bigger! Just move your mouse cursor to the top of the task bar (if it's on the bottom) and drag it up.

Get maximum DOS memory

For maximum DOS memory in an MS-DOS session,
Steps:

Click on the start menu, and select the Run option.
Type in sysedit, and push ok.
When the System Editor comes up, select the System.ini window
And add the line LocalLoadHigh=1 to the [386Enh] section of system.ini.
Save changes and restart the computer.

Opening desktop folders with Explorer

Create a new folder, "c:\user." Then create a shortcut to the folder on the desktop. Right click on the desktop folder shortcut and amend the properties for the shortcut target as follows:

"c:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,c:\user

If you want to the folder to appear as root, add the option "/root." For example:

"c:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,c:\user" Now the folder will be opened in explorer view when double-clicking the icon.

Logitech Mouse Tip

If you have a Logitech mouse, this tip will let you use the middle mouse button as a double-click by:

Start up Notepad, and type the following:
**start of midclick.reg**
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Logitech \ MouseWare \ CurrentVersion \ SerialV \ 0000]
"DoubleClick"="001"
**end of midclick.reg**

Save this as "midclick.reg" and double click it to execute!

Customizing your own Hot Keys

Here is the procedure for creating hot-keys for launching applications:

Right click on either a shortcut to a Windows application or a dos program icon.
Choose Properties.
Window's Click the "Shortcut" tab. DOS program, click the "Program" tab.
Click inside the "Shortcut key" field and enter the hot-key combination. Only the key combinations of Ctrl + (some key) or Ctrl + Alt + (some key) will work. F-KEYS are good by themselves or in combination. You can't use the Esc, Tab, Spacebar, Enter, Print Screen, or Backspace in the keys. You can't use a key combination reserved for another program.
Click Apply, then OK.

To remove the hot-key, change the value of the "Shortcut key" field to none. It may be necessary to COMPLETELY shut down Windows 95, wait a bit, then restart your computer.

Options in MSDOS.SYS

To activate the following options, attrib your MSDOS.SYS file in your directory and use a text editor to add any of these lines under the OPTIONS heading. These commands are case sensitive.

BootWin=0: This command will boot into your OLD DOS without loading Windows 95.
BootGUI=0: Boots DOS 7.0 instead of Windows 95.
BootMenu=1: Displays the Windows 95 Start Up Menu WITHOUT having to hit the F4 and F8 keys.
BootDelay=n (number value in seconds): Just like the old multi-boot, the sets the value in seconds for how long you want the scroll bar to wait until it processes the menu.
BootMenuDefault=n: Just like the old multi-boot, this allows you place the scroll bar on the menu item of your choice as a default.
BootMulti=1: This will put the line "Previous Version of DOS" at the bottom of the menu options.
LOGO=0: Disables the Windows 95 logo on Windows boot-up.

Play single tracks on your CD

Windows 95 allows you to do some strange things with audio CDs. Insert Audio CD, Select Your CD drive in Explorer and find the tracks (.CDA files). Here are some things to try.

Right-click on a track to play it automatically, by choosing "Play" from the Quick Menu.
If you double-click on a track, it will play automatically.
Try dragging a track onto your desktop. Copy or create a shortcut, it doesn't matter. Name the track after the song. Whenever you have the CD in the drive, you can now double-click on it on the desktop to play it.
You can also drag tracks to your hard drive and put them in your Start Menu, or create a directory with CD tracks in it.

Renaming the Recycle Bin

Start the Registry Editor
Search for Recycle Bin
Double click on the Recycle Bin in the right pane
Type in the new name under Value Data
Restart Win95

Restart Windows without Restarting the Computer

Click on the Start Button, select Shut Down, Hold down the Shift key and select the choice Restart the Computer?, and then hit OK while skill holding on Shift. Windows 95 will restart without rebooting.

Update Registry without Restarting the Computer

Steps: Press Ctr-Alt-Del, select Explorer, and click End Task. When Windows asks if to Shut Down, click No. Then click End Task at the next prompt.

Windows Setup Switches

Windows 95 has several switches you can use when executing Setup:

/is - Ignores the check of your system check

/id - Ignores the check for whether there is enough disk space

/iq - Ignores the test for cross-linked files and file directory integrity

/in - Runs setup without the Network Setup Module

You can also specify a filename (.inf) with setup, that contains information on exactly what to set up.

Shut Down Screen Commands

Next time you are at the shut down screen ("It is now safe to turn off your computer."), try these handy commands:

win --- Restarts Windows 95 without re-booting your computer.

mode co80 --- Returns you to a MS-DOS prompt.

NOTE: These commands generally only work when the MS-DOS Command.com has previously been loaded.

Stretch your wallpaper across the Desktop

MS Plus! users, can stretch a bitmap across the desktop by:

Right mouse click on the desktop, choose Properties, and then on the Background tab, and select a Wallpaper
Select Center, which produces a puny image in the center of your screen.
But before clicking OK or Apply, click the Plus! tab
Select the last option, "Stretch desktop wallpaper to fit the entire screen."
Now click Apply or OK and watch that wallpaper s-t-r-e-t-c-h!

Print Screen With Win95

If you use Print Screen and try it with Windows95, don't expect much. In fact, don't expect anything. It just won't work.

Now for the good news. You can print what you see, it's just not as direct. When you hit Print Screen, Windows 95 copies (captures) the screen to your clipboard as a bitmap. From there, you may paste the screen into a paint program or word processor and print from there. Hit Alt+Print Screen to print an open window, not the whole screen.