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Windows 95/98 Tips
ROLLING OUT A CHANGE FROM LOGGING INTO A WORKGROUP TO LOGGING INTO AN NT DOMAIN

In our previous TechMails, "Rolling out a change of NT Domain names" and "Binary values and Reg.exe," we introduced Reg.exe from the Windows 98 Resource Kit and discussed its ability to help us make changes to the Microsoft Client for Microsoft Networks Properties. A further scenario where this tool would be useful is the change from having the Windows 9x PCs log in to a workgroup to having them log in to a NT Domain. This frequently occurs when networks that started out as just a group of PCs turn into larger affairs with the introduction of a NT server. In addition to the registry change we made in the previous TechMail to define the name of the Domain... reg update hklm\system\currentcontrolset\services\msnp32\networkprovider\Authentic atingAgent=newdomain (where newdomain is the name of the Domain) ...we also need to tell the MS Client to prompt to log in to that Domain. This is done by adding the following lines to the batch file that we will have users run from an existing network share: reg delete hklm\network\logon\lmlogon /force reg add hklm\network\logon\lmlogon=1 REG_DWORD Since the reg.exe utility does not allow us to modify or add Binary registry values, we need to delete the existing value first and then recreate the value. Fortunately, the REG_DWORD data type also works! Have your users run a batch file that contains all three lines and the next time they start their PCs, they will be prompted to log on to newdomain.

AUDITING NETWORK LOGONS IN NT

How should you track logon history? Very carefully, says Jake Necessary. Here's his simple two-step process for auditing NT network logons. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000320nec01.htm

GETTING READY TO INSTALL WINDOWS 9X

So you're assigned the task of re-installing Windows on an employee's machine. Before you format, take a look at the tips that John Kowaleski offers to help you get started. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000705eng02.htm

IMPROVE HTML DOCUMENTS WITH IMAGE FRAMES AND TEXT BOXES

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to make important information stand out on your Web pages, we've got the answer. Find out how to create image frames and text boxes that can help enhance your HTML documents. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320001204det01.htm

WILL YOUR WEB HOST SHUT DOWN YOUR SITE WHEN THERE'S A PAYMENT DISPUTE?

Your Web host might brag about the sophisticated technology used to keep uptime at the max. But will your Web host pull the plug if you have a billing dispute? Here are steps you can take to keep your site up and running. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00620001204bol01.htm

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Don't have time to sort through hundreds of news items each morning to learn about the two or three events that really matter? Let TechRepublic cut through the noise with our daily IT News Digest TechMail. We bring you the day's top headlines, plus pointers to other articles that give you the whole picture. http://www.techrepublic.com/ad_click_in.jhtml?id=1086

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TRACE A ROUTE TO AN IP ADDRESS

In our last TechMail ("Telnet is there, really"), we mentioned that a suite of utility programs is installed when the TCP/IP protocol is installed on a Windows 9x computer. This time, we introduce another of these programs, which can be invaluable when trying to troubleshoot connection problems between your Windows computers on complex networks. Tracert.exe traces a route between you and a given IP address on your network, listing all the "hops" or gateways it passes through on its way there. To run the command, simply type the name of the program (tracert) and the address to trace a route to. For example: tracert 192.168.0.5 A successful trace will list each hop and report a successful trace with the final address listed as the last hop. Entries such as those below indicate that the trace has not been successful as the next hop (the final host or next gateway) has not been found.

SECRETS OF A SUPER GEEK: LEARN TO ANALYZE AND DIAGNOSE PROBLEMS EFFECTIVELY

Effective and successful IT troubleshooting involves looking at the symptoms, playing the odds, and stacking the deck in your favor. Find out how this process can save you time and effort on your next troubleshooting mission. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320001108det02.htm GET THE SCOOP WITH THE WINDOWS 98 SYSTEM FILE CHECKER Before you do a complete reinstall, use this handy little utility to check for corrupt system files that may be causing your problems. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00119991213ken01.htm

E-BILLING MUST INCREASE CONVENIENCE FOR CONSUMERS

Consumers who bank or invest online want consolidated account and bill payment services, but the services must be user-friendly. If you consult for the financial industry, read this Gartner FirstTake to see what it will take to succeed in this market. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00720001127ggp01.htm

DOWNLOAD TECHREPUBLIC'S LIST OF ONLINE RESOURCES FOR CIOs AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY MANAGERS

Where can you find the information you need as an IT leader? TechRepublic has compiled a list of our favorite online resources for CIOs and other technology executives. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520001127law01.htm

KEEP STATELESS WEB PAGES IN MIND WHEN PLANNING YOUR WEB SITE

Programming stateless Web pages can go a long way in the battle to achieve scalability for your Web site's infrastructure. TechRepublic contributing author Kevin Brown discusses the details you should keep in mind when designing a stateless model. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220001127jim01.htm

FILE MANAGER

At the end of September, we ran a TechMail ("Can you manage without Program Manager?") that explained how to revive the trusty old Program Manager shell in Windows 95 or 98 for those who cannot live without it. It might seem bizarre, however, if Program Manager started without its comrade File Manager. So, if you still have some users who are finding Explorer a maze, you can run the old style File Manager with the command: winfile.exe Many users actually find File Manager clearer than Explorer--file extensions are displayed by default and mapped drives appear on their own toolbar waiting to be clicked.

ACU ALLOWS A PAINLESS UPGRADE TO THE LATEST NOVELL CLIENT

Want to upgrade all your Windows 9x workstations to the most recent Novell client software? Want to do it without breaking a sweat? The Automated Client Upgrade can make it happen. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220001121jim01.htm USING DOS TOOLS FOR WINDOWS 9X If you believe that DOS utilities are yesterday's news, you're wrong. John Kowaleski takes a look at several DOS utilities that could save the day! http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000614eng01.htm

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THE FILES THAT HOLD THE REGISTRY

The Windows 9x registry is actually made up of two files--system.dat and user.dat. Knowing this gives us another good way of backing up the registry. You must, however, boot to DOS mode to do this--remember that while Windows runs, the files will be in use. So, select the Restart The Computer In DOS Mode option from the Shutdown command on the Start Menu, and at the DOS prompt, ensure you are in the system root (usually c:\windows). Then type: attrib system.dat -s -h -r attrib user.dat -s -h -r copy system.dat c:\backup\system.dat (or somewhere safe) copy user.dat c:\backup\user.dat attrib system.dat +s +h +r attrib user.dat +s +h +r If your registry now becomes completely corrupted, you will be able to copy these files back into place using the reverse of the commands above: attrib c:\windows\system.dat -s -h -r attrib c:\windows\user.dat -s -h -r copy c:\backup\system.dat c:\windows\system.dat copy c:\backup\user.dat c:\windows\user.dat attrib c:\windows\system.dat +s +h +r attrib c:\windows\user.dat +s +h +r

ROLLING OUT A CHANGE OF NT DOMAIN NAMES

If you are changing the name of your NT domain or need to change the domain that a large number of Windows 9x PCs log in to, you might find this particular tip more attractive than visiting each PC to change a setting manually. Knowing where the setting for the "Windows NT domain:" field is kept in the registry of a Windows 95 PC is a prerequisite. This is stored as AuthenticatingAgent in the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSNP32\NetworkProv ider as a String Value. Setting AuthenticatingAgent to the name of the domain sets the domain to log in to. Using reg.exe from the Windows 98 Resource Kit, you could update this setting within the existing network login script as in the example below: reg update hklm\system\currentcontrolset\services\msnp32\networkprovider\Authentic atingAgent=newdomain Once the script has run, the PC will prompt the user to log in to the new domain the next time Windows is started, so you should be sure that the new domain is available. In the next TechMail, we look at a quirk of the reg.exe program you need to be aware of before we can introduce a related change to this one.

HOW TO USE THE EXTRACT UTILITY MORE EASILY

Sometimes in TechMails, we discuss procedures that require you to extract replacement system files from the original Windows media, (see "Restoring missing fonts folder commands"). Windows 9x comes with the necessary tool to complete this task. It's called extract.exe and is used to extract and decompress files from the Windows .cab files to your disk or a floppy. One of the biggest problems with .cab files is trying to find out which .cab file contains the file you need to extract. However, you don't necessarily need to know which .cab file to check in. If you use the /a switch, you can specify the file to start looking in, and extract.exe will then search each sequentially named .cab file from there. For example, the line below will start looking in win95_02.cab for unidrv.dll and then move on to win95_03.cab, win95_04.cab, win95_05.cab, and so on, until it finds it. Then it will extract the file to c:\windows\system as specified with the /l switch. extract /a d:\win95\win95_02.cab unidrv.dll /l c:\windows\system You should find extract.exe in \windows\command.

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LISTING THE CONTENTS OF .CAB FILES

In our last TechMail ("How to use the Extract utility more easily"), we introduced extract.exe to extract files from the original Windows media. You can also use extract.exe to list the contents of .cab files using another of its command line switches. The command below would write to the screen the contents of the d:\win95\win95_02.cab file. extract /d d:\win95\win95_02.cab We can combine this with the /a switch to have Extract go through all the sequentially named .cab files to list all their contents: extract /a /d d:\win95\win95_02.cab This command would list the contents of the .cab files starting with win95_02.cab to the screen. If you need to, you could use the command lines below to create a text file containing the list of files in each of the Windows media .cab files. extract /a /d d:\win95\mini.cab >c:\wincabs.txt extract /a /d d:\win95\precopy1.cab >>c:\wincabs.txt extract /a /d d:\win95\win95_02.cab >>c:\wincabs.txt (where d:\win95 is the location of the .cab files) Hint--it can be quicker searching for the name of a file in this text file to determine the correct .cab file and then using extract.exe on that file than it is using the /a switch to search through all the .cab files when the file is in the last one!

WHICH DOMAIN CONTROLLER JUST AUTHENTICATED ME?

If you are trying to troubleshoot problems with your Windows 9x computers logging in to an NT Domain, you may find this TechMail useful. The registry edit below forces Windows to display a dialog box listing the NT Domain Controller that has authenticated you into the Domain. This can be particularly helpful if you believe that one of the domain controllers is not allowing login scripts to be run. On your Windows 9x computer, open Regedit.exe and add the following DWORD value to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon\DomainLogonMessage Then set its value to 1. When you have finished your troubleshooting tasks, just remove the value or set it to 0.

TROUBLESHOOTING LAPTOPS: THE ANSWER MAY BE GRAPHIC

Do your mobile users have problems getting regular-size monitors to work with their laptops? Here are some tips for resolving configuration problems. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000531mik01.htm ARE YOU USING TOP-NOTCH ANTIVIRUS RESOURCES? Remember the "motor oil's motor oil" commercials? Not all antivirus software and information resources are created equal. Blane Warrene takes a look at a few that excel. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000606eje01.htm

NETWORK PROBLEMS WITH WINDOWS ME

After you have installed Windows Me, you might encounter some problems with the network components of the OS. You might find that the Home Networking Wizard causes a blue screen error message, "net use" commands fail, you are unable to browse the network, or you simply don't get an MS Networking logon dialog. You are not alone if you have discovered these problems, but there is a fix. In this TechMail, we talk you through the first of two steps to try to resolve the problems. Check for the existence of the following key in the registry using Regedit.exe (please take the usual care when editing the registry): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VXD\Vnetbios If this key does not exist, create it in Regedit, and then add the following values manually to the new Vnetbios key. Value name: NetClean Value type: Binary Value data: 01 Value name: Start Value type: Binary Value data: 00 Value name: StaticVxD Value type: String Value data: vnetbios.vxd Now restart your computer and check to see if the computer exhibits the same behavior or if the problem has been fixed. If it hasn't, check back tomorrow for the next TechMail.

IS WINDOWS ME AN OPERATING SYSTEM FOR YOU?

With the release of Windows Me, many organizations are debating whether to adopt it, continue deploying existing versions of Windows 9x, or move to Windows 2000. This Gartner Research Note provides a quick look at what Windows Me can and can't do. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320001004ggp02.htm

WINDOWS ME BOOK LOOKS GOOD, BUT IS USEFUL ONLY FOR BEGINNERS

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition At a Glance is a beautifully illustrated, easy-to-follow book for the novice user. However, the experienced tech should look elsewhere for a comprehensive Windows Me resource manual. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320001011det01.htm

NETWORK PROBLEMS WITH WINDOWS ME

In the last TechMail, we talked you through manually recreating a registry key and its values to solve problems with Windows Me networking. If those problems have not been resolved by following that procedure, you should continue with the one below. We need to check whether the file vnetbios.vxd is present in the \windows\system folder. From a command line, type: dir vnetbios.vxd /ah If the file is not found, we need to extract it from the original media using either the extract.exe utility we introduced recently ("How to use the Extract utility more easily") or by using the System Configuration utility in Windows Me. To perform this task with the System Configuration utility (Start | Run | msconfig.exe), click on the Extract File button, type "vnetbios.vxd" without the quotes in the given dialog box, and press the Start button. Now browse to the folder that holds your installation media (usually c:\windows\options\install or c:\windows\options\cabs), select c:\ to extract the file to, and click OK. When that has completed, use Explorer to drag and drop the file from c:\ to c:\windows\system and click OK to confirm the replacement of the existing file. Now restart your computer and check to see if the problem has been fixed.

MICROSOFT IS TAKING THE CHOICE AWAY FROM ME...MILLENNIUM EDITION

Microsoft is pushing Windows 2000 as the OS of choice for business users. As part of this strategy, some functionality has been removed from Windows Me. Get Gartner's take on this move by Microsoft in this Research Note. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000906ggp02.htm

WINDOWS MILLENNIUM EDITION HAS MORE OF A CONSUMER APPEAL

The latest Microsoft release is not receiving cheers from Gartner. Check out this FirstTake review of Millennium Edition--the follow-on product to Windows 98 for manufacturing. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00620000704ggp01.htm

CLEARING OUT THE MOST RECENTLY USED LISTS

You have probably noticed that Windows 9x keeps a history of your recently accessed files, programs initialized from the Run command, and so on. You may wish to clear these out from time to time, either for security reasons, when a computer is being set up for a new user, or just because you're a tidy person. Below are a number of registry keys that hold these Most Recently Used (MRU) lists. To clean out the MRUs, navigate to the key and then delete the contents of the key EXCEPT the "Default" value in each key. Depending on your computer's usage, not all of these keys may exist on your PC.

POP QUIZ SOLUTION: WHY WINDOWS 98 WON'T SHUT DOWN

We received nearly 600 responses to this quiz. Find out how TechRepublic members explain why Windows 98 won't shut down. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000424jed06.htm WEB SITE REVIEW: FIND THOSE ELUSIVE FILE EXTENSIONS WITH WHATIS.COM Having trouble tracking down the meaning of a puzzling file extension? Check out Whatis.com and its list of over 4,000 file formats. Then, let us know what you think with TechRepublic's Rate this Site! survey. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000731det03.htm

DOS PROGRAM IDLE SENSITIVITY

DOS programs can cause problems on Windows 9x PCs. They often require more configuration to get their environment and memory settings correct, and they can hog your CPU, too! You can fight back, however. With the following setting, you can alter the amount of time that Windows 9x will wait before deeming the DOS application idle, thus reducing the amount of CPU resources that are given over to the DOS application until it is brought into use again. To make the setting, find the shortcut used to start the program in Explorer. Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and click on the Misc tab. Find the slider named Idle Sensitivity. Sliding this setting to Low gives the program more time before Windows marks it as idle, and sliding this to High gives it less time before Windows diverts resources away to other applications.

USING DOS TOOLS FOR WINDOWS 9X

If you believe that DOS utilities are yesterday's news, you're wrong. John Kowaleski takes a look at several DOS utilities that could save the day! http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000614eng01.htm SETTING UP A MACHINE TO START AT THE DOS PROMPT You can make a change to one text file that forces your Windows 9x machine to boot directly to the DOS prompt. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00319990419jed03.htm

MY NETWORK NOW HAS PLACES INSTEAD OF A NEIGHBORHOOD

Windows Millennium provides users with a GUI that has much in common with the Windows 2000 Operating System. One way this similarity can be seen is the replacement of Network Neighborhood with My Network Places. The idea of Network Places is simply that you (or your administrator) can create icons to locations on your network that you frequently visit. This may sound familiar if you have ever followed any of our TechMails describing how to put a shortcut to a network share on your desktop. The convenience of My Network Places, however, comes from the ability to set up shortcuts to an ftp server, network share, or Web folder all in one place. You can set these up by double-clicking on the Add Network Place wizard icon and following the steps to create the "place" icon. You can then right-click the icon and select the Send To | Desktop to place a shortcut to the network place in a more convenient location.

READ OUR UPDATED GUIDE TO HOME NETWORKING

Earlier this year, TechRepublic published a how-to for beginners on home networking. Since then, the technology used for home networking has evolved. Check out our guide. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320001110det02.htm

A LOOK AT COMDEX 2000 FROM A MAIL ADMINISTRATOR'S PERSPECTIVE

So you didn't get to Comdex in Las Vegas this year? No problem. TechRepublic's Christopher Tellez will give you a 30,000-foot view of some of the products and services presented. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220001207jim02.htm

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