WIN98 TIPS FOR LAPTOPS Pg. 2

  • W - TOO MUCH HELP? : Windows 98 uses the "webpage" analogy for Help files [Compiled Help files with the "chm" extension]; when you open a particular Help file for the first time, the "index" file is generated ["chw" extension]. After using Windows 98 for a while, use of the HELP files often diminishes; some of the information therein is obsolete; in addition, the size of the Windows\Help folder may well exceed 10 megabytes. Eliminating the "chw" files can save a few megabytes of space, but subsequent use of the Help file will generate a new "chw" file. There are some ways you can manipulate this large set of files, depending on how often you use them, how your system is configured and how needful you are of free hard drive space. Short of deleting the contents of the Help folder here are three alternatives:

    •    1 - Zip up all the files in the Help folder. Since there are many files in the Help folder, make several zip files breaking up the contents of the Help folder into several smaller zip files. This will make it easier to find and use a particular help subject after compressing. Zipping will reduce the size of the Help folder to about 60% of its original size.

       2 - For maximum space savings, move the zipped Help files to a portable drive, if available. Use a path that mirrors the original location:
    "E:\Windows\Help" if "E" is the letter of the portable drive.

       NOTE #1: To use the zipped files regardless of their locale, you can either unzip them to the original location OR read them [from the relevant "chm" file] directly from the zip file. In the direct read case, the "chw" file will be re-created. To avoid re-creation, extract the "chw" file to its original location; then delete after use.
       NOTE #2: If you have trouble running a Help file whether from a zip file, from a portable drive or even the original hard drive location, there may be corruption in the ".chw" [index] file. Re-name the suspect ".chw" file with another extension [such as ".old"], then run the help file again in order to create a new ".chw" file.

       3 - Zipping the Help files presents one problem: anytime the Help function is accessed an error message is returned that the file is not found. To avoid the "not found" problem, the Help files can be moved [i.e. cut/paste] en masse and uncompressed to a portable disk as long as their new physical locale is repathed in the Registry. [Back up the Registry first, unless you are an accomplished "repather".]
          a. Open "regedit.exe", select "Edit" on the Menu Bar, then select "Find".
          b. In the Find box, type in the path [without quotes]:
    "C:\Windows\Help" [or the path on your system that leads to the Help files].
          c. When the Find function locates a matching item, change the drive letter. Continue through the entire Registry [using Find Next].
          d. There are two Registry Keys where strings can be created to keep the "not found" problem to a minimum. To make these string additions easy to create, first open the newly located Help folder, select "View" then "Arrange Icons/By Type" on the Menu Bar. The two types of files of interest are the ".hlp" and the ".chm" files. You can take screen-shots of the list of "hlp" and "chm" files, then print them OR leave the Help folder open as you add Registry Strings.[Reminder: At this point, backing up the Registry is advisable just in case you inadvertently start adding strings in the wrong place.] Now, from Start/Run, type "regedit".
    IN THE REGISTRY
    Key#1 - Go to Registy Key:
    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Help
    In the right hand pane, there will probably be several strings already referring to the path of some ".hlp" files. Referring to your list of "hlp" files, add strings to at least the major ".hlp" files [such as windows.hlp, winhlp.hlp, iexplore.hlp, htmhlp98.hlp, regedit.hlp] and for the applications you use quite frequently such as MSPaint and Clipboard.
    Strings are added as follows:
  • Right Click on the Right Pane of the Registry.
  • Select "New/String Value"
  • Type in the name of the String which will be an EXACT match of the ".hlp" file name, such as "mspaint.hlp" [no quotes].
  • Open the newly created String to edit [add] a value; in the "Value Data" box, type in the path to the ".hlp" file as follows [no quotes]: "E:\Windows\Help", select the OK button to close the box. [If you want to add strings for several/all of the ".hlp" files, copy the words {no quotes}: "E:\Windows\Help" in order to paste it into each new Value Data box.]

    Key#2 - Go to Registy Key:
    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\HTML Help
    In the right hand pane, there will probably be several strings already referring to the path of some ".chm" files. Referring to your list of "chm" files, add strings to at least the major ".chm" files [such as windows.chm, Tshoot98.chm, iexplore.chm, htmhlp98.chm, regedit.chm] and for the applications you use frequently. Proceed adding new Strings just as in Key#1 above substituting EXACT ".chm" [instead of ".hlp"] file names. The "Value Data" is the same as above, i.e., "E:\Windows\Help" [no quotes]. Exit the Registry.

    •       e. Before using the Help function, send the relevant ".chw" file to "C:\Windows\Help" to avoid time-consuming re-creation; then delete the ".chw" file on the hard drive after use. If a ".chw" file is not currently available, save the newly created one by sending it the portable drive Help folder. For maximum space savings, always keep the hard drive Help folder empty after using the help function. To easily manipulate ".chw" files, create shortcuts to both the hard drive and portable drive Help folders in the "C:\Windows\SendTo" folder.

  • X - TROUBLESHOOTER TIPS : The Windows Troubleshooter is part of the Windows Help function that helps the user solve problems within their system. Many topics are covered such as Drivespace, Modems, PC Cards, Memory, MS-DOS, DUN, and Sound.

    1- The Microsoft website has a similar Troubleshooter which may have updated information compared to your offline version. The online version is at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/tshoot/default.asp?FR=0.

    2- Of course, if your problem IS that you can't get online, your offline version may render a solution. For direct access to the offline Troubleshooter, place a shortcut in the Start Menu or Desktop to the file "Tshoot98.chm".

    3- On some systems, it has been found that the Troubleshooter does not work properly. Here are a few things you can try:

       a- Re-Index the "Tshoot98.chm" file by renaming the "Tshoot98.chw" file to "Tshoot98.old". Then rerun "Tshoot98.chm".

       b- Using "System File Checker", extract a new copy of "Tshoot.ocx" from your Windows 98/98SE CD. {From Start/Run, type "sfc" [no quotes], select "Extract one file . . .", type in "Tshoot.ocx" [no quotes], fill-in the paths to your Win98 CD and Windows Help folder.}

       c- Your Registry may lack the CodeBase entries that run the Troubleshooter. This can be caused by using Microsoft's RegClean utility that may have removed the needed entries. If you have used RegClean and saved the "Undo.reg" file, open the "Undo.reg" file with a Text Editor [e.g. Notepad] or "Quick View". Look for references to "Tshoot" and, in particular, the value "4B106874-DD36-11D0-8B44-00A024DD9EFF". If you find references to these items, merge the "undo.reg" entry into your Registry only AFTER backing up your current Registry first. Reboot and try your Troubleshooter again.

       d- If your Troubleshooter is still broken, you can construct a "homemade" one from the Windows Help files:
          (1) Go to the Windows Help folder, open the file for your particular problem that contains the words "*_result.htm" [such as "drvspace_result.htm" if your problem is with a compressed drive]. Determine which item in the list refers to the particular problem you are having. At this point you can try checking that item and selecting "Next", but if the Troubleshooter still fails go to the next step below.
          (2) Copy then paste the relevant ".tsc" file [if you are troubleshooting Drivespace, then copy and paste "drvspace.tsc"]. Rename the pasted file, "Copy of *.tsc" to "*tsc.htm" [to continue the drivespace example, rename "Copy of drvspace.tsc" to "drvspacetsc.htm". Do not rename the copy to "drvspace.htm" because there already is a file of that name].
          (3) Open the new "*tsc.htm" file in your browser; scroll down until you find the suggested solutions to the problems your system is experiencing. The "*tsc.htm" file will not have the standard appearance of the Troubleshooter, but it does contain the same suggestions and information.

  • Y - LOST YOUR SOCKS?: Installing new programs or files can sometimes result in the inability to access the Internet. Trying different browsers or ISPs is of no avail; even trying to access a POP mail server with a mail program returns a socket error. Before going through the major trouble of reinstalling the O/S [with all the subsequent patches and service packs], there are a few simpler procedures that can be tried. After each item below is tried in turn, reboot then try to access the internet.

    1- Uninstall [preferably via the Control Panel] or delete recent installations of programs/files that immediately preceded the inability to access the internet if these installs have an effect on web access. Also consider 'undoing' the results of a Registry or File Cleaner utility if used recently. This usually can be accomplished by running/ restoring the backup.

    2- In the Control Panel, open 'Network' [Configuration Tab]; select each item to make a note of its properties, provider, and type [e.g. client, adapter, service, protocol]. Delete each item, then reinstall each item with the same characteristics as the deleted item.

    3- Obtain a new copy of the winsock file for your O/S from the CD; check the Windows/ System folder for the exact name of the winsock file; it is often 'wsock32/dll'. From Start/Run, enter "SFC" [no quotes]. In the System File Checker dialogue box, select "Extract one file from installation disk"; enter the file's name such as "wsock32.dll" [no quotes]. Target the extracted file to the Windows/System folder.

    4- Restore the Registry from the copy that was made just prior to the inability to access the internet. To find the exact date of each Registry backup, go to the "Windows/Sysbckup" folder; open each "rb00*.cab" file to determine the time/day the backup was automatically created. Reboot to restart in "MS-DOS" mode. At the DOS prompt, enter "scanreg /restore" [no quotes]. Select the backup that most closely precedes the time when internet access failed.

  • Z - MISMATCHED SOCKS-AOL: Upgrading from AOL4.0 to AOL5.0 has proved particularly vexsome for several AOLers. Problems range from mild to the Big One [i.e. Reformat]. For those who have trouble moving up to version 5.0, in addition to trying the suggestions in the foregoing tip [Lost Your Socks] when Internet access is lost, another approach may prove successful:

      1- Rather than over-writing the working AOL4.0 version, install a standalone version of AOL5.0, so that both versions are extant on your system.
      2- First, open the AOL5.0 version and try to gain Internet access. If Internet Access fails with AOL5.0, open the AOL4.0 version to try to gain Internet Access.
      3- If Internet Access fails with both versions of AOL, uninstall all versions of AOL through the Control Panel/Remove Programs.
      4- Now install version 5.0 to try to gain Internet Access.
    If Internet Access is not secured with a clean install of AOL5.0, here are a few fixes:
             A-For problems with TCP/IP:
                    a- Delete the "Netaol.inf", "Aolmac.vxd" & Aolndi.dll" files.
                    b- Rename the file "Vdhcp386" to Vdhcp.bak".
                    c- Reboot & start AOL. If AOL opens properly, close it. Rename "vdhcp.bak" to Vdhcp.386".
                    d- Use your AOL/Net/"OS" folder if Windows tries to reinstall the AOL adapter.
            B- Reinstall Dial-Up-Networking after uninstalling the current installation.
            C- Update your Winsock:
                    a- From Keyword "FTP", go to ftp.microsoft.com.
                    b- Go to folder bussys/winsock/winsock2.
                    c- Download & install "ws295sdk.zip". Later, go to Microsoft's website to get the Winsock2 Y2K update.
      5- If version 5.0 fails to gain Internet Access, uninstall it and re-install version 4.0.
      6- If the new install of 4.0 fails to gain Internet Access, refer to Step #4 in the Lost Your Socks tip above
      wherein the Registry that existed prior to the first install of Version 5.0 is restored.

    There are some preparations & advisories before installing version 5.0:

      A- Obtain both a copy of the 4.0 & 5.0 software [newest versions]. A copy of version 3.0-16Bit [the non-Win95 version] is also handy to have since it is not dependent on the AOL Adapters/TCP-IP [in Control Panel/Network] & and can give you emergency Internet Access.
      B- If you want to save your AOL4.0 Personal File Cabinet [the location of your saved read/sent E-Mail], copy the "Organize" folder in your AOL4.0 directory to a safe location.
      C- Copy your "Download" folder, if it has files you want to save plus any other files/folders in the AOL4.0 directory which you want to save to a safe location.
      D- When trying the Steps #2, #4 #6, do not open or send any email if you want to save it. ONLY when you have an Internet Accessible copy of AOL on your system [whether 4.0 or 5.0], rename the new "Organize" folder and copy/paste the saved "Organize" folder into the AOL directory. Then it is safe to resume email functions. Also return other saved files/folders to the AOL directory.
      E- Before installing AOL 5.0, delete all files in your Cache [Temporary Internet Files] & History folders from pure MS-DOS mode with the commands at the C:\Windows prompt as follows:

                             deltree /y tempor~1 [press Enter]
                             deltree /y history [press Enter]
                             win [press Enter]

      F- Internet Access is present only when you can open an "http" website; Email, FTP [via Keyword] & Newsgroups [via Keyword] are not dependent on Internet Access.

    • ,
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