In the c:\Windows directory, search for a file with the extension of .pwl. Delete this file. Then reboot. This will reset the pop up User window to appear in a different format. The window will now say, "if you don't enter a password, this window will not appear again." The one instruction this User window neglects to give you is to press the Enter Key instead of pressing the OK button. When you reboot, the window will not reappear.

By going to the Control Panel in the future, you can always change to multiple Users by clicking on the User's Icon and following the instructions.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q129/6/05.asp.

Yellow Sound Speaker: Did the little yellow speaker that controls audio volume disappear from your taskbar's system tray? If so, open the Multimedia Control Panel. Under the Audio tab, check the "Show volume control on the taskbar" option in the Playback section (in Win98, the option is at the bottom of the dialog box). Click on OK, and the yellow speaker should return. If not, try reinstalling your audio driver and then repeat these steps.

Make a Start-Up Disk from DOS: You may already know how to create a start-up disk: Control Panel >Add/Remove Programs > Startup Disk > Click Create Disk button. But sometimes you need a start-up disk when you can't get to Windows. Here's how to create one from DOS. First, make sure you've got a disk in your floppy drive, then type: cd windows\command and press Enter. Next, type: bootdisk a: and press Enter. Windows will format the disk, then copy the system and other required start-up files.

Customize the Windows Explorer Shortcut: If you get Properties for the Windows Explorer shortcut, the one that comes on your Start menu, you'll see that the command line reads: C:\Windows\EXPLORER.SCF. You probably wouldn't notice that or care about it unless you tried to customize the shortcut to open a folder in a special way using the switches available to the EXPLORER.EXE file. To customize Windows Explorer, change EXPLORER.SCF on the command line to EXPLORER.EXE. Then add the customization switches you prefer. The syntax for EXPLORER.EXE commands is:

Explorer [/n] [/e][,/root,object][[,/select],subobject]

(For object and subobject, insert a path statement to a specific directory on your PC, such as C:\Program Files.)

Here's a table that describes what each switch does. You may want to create multiple instances of the Windows Explorer shortcut to point at specific folders you commonly access on your PC. Please note, the commas shown in the left column are important to the functionality of these commands.

EXPLORER.EXE Switches Explained

{no switch} = Opens a one-pane folder window

/e = Opens a two-pane Explorer window

/root,object = Specifies a target directory object that will be the root of the folder window.

/select = For one-pane folders, opens the parent folder of the specified folder and selects the specified folder.

The new toolbar will immediately spread out across your Taskbar, using all the available space. And it's kind of ugly at first, but we're not done -- and this is the tricky part. Grab the handle just to the left of the desktop label and slide it as far to the right as it will go, so all you see is the word "Desktop" followed by the chevron (>>), which indicates there are more items available but not currently visible.

With that done, all you have to remember to do is click the double greater-than symbols of the chevron beside the word "Desktop" on your taskbar. That opens the powerful pop-up menu.

Document Your Configuration: -- (Win 98)Be prepared for a system problem before it happens: Use MSINFO (C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\MICROSOFT SHARED\MSINFO\MSINFO32.EXE) to save a system configuration "snapshot" to a floppy disk. Refresh the file whenever you install or uninstall hardware or software.

Find Out Exactly What A Program Does When You Install: it by using the System File Checker's log feature. After installing a program, open the log by launching the System Information utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information), choosing System File Checker from the Tools menu, clicking on the Settings button and then on the View Log button. The log will tell you exactly which files were added to your computer and which were updated with a newer version.

Always Open TXT Files In Wordpad: rather than Notepad. Click once on any TXT file, then hold down the Shift key and right-click on the file. Choose Open With from the pop-up menu, scroll through the list of programs and choose WordPad. Check the box labeled "Always use this program to open this type of file" before you click on OK.

Allocate More or Less RAM For Caching Data From The CD-ROM Drive: In Control Panel/System/Performance, select File System and the CD-ROM tab. Move the Supplemental Cache Size slider to the right to allocate more RAM for caching data from the CD-ROM drive, or to the left to allocate less. Multimedia programs perform better with a smaller cache because they seldom reuse data. For reading continuous data, such as AVI files, use a higher setting for Optimize Access Pattern. For reading random data, increase the Supplemental Cache Size and decrease the Optimize Access Pattern.

Print Documents Without Opening Them: by adding your printer to the Win9x SendTo menu (accessed when you highlight and right-click on any file in a Windows Explorer or My Computer window). Open C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO and create a shortcut there for your printer. Your printer will now appear the next time you access the SendTo menu.

Print Out All The Fonts On Your System: by opening Control Panel, double-clicking the Fonts icon, then on the font of your choice and clicking on the Print button.

Set Win98 Default Folder Attributes: Microsoft gave us a whole new way to set folder defaults in Windows 98. Open the folder for your C: drive, and without opening any other folders, arrange and configure it exactly as you'd like all your folders to appear. When you've got the C: drive folder the way you like it, choose View, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Next, press the Like Current Folder button to create the new default setting, which will be permanent (unless you hit the Reset All Folders button). You'll notice that when you deviate individual folders from these settings, those folders will retain the changed settings as long as you have "Remember each folder's view settings" checked under Advanced settings. If you want them all to look exactly the same no matter what, remove the check beside Remember Each folder's View Settings. Note: Some people report that their systems do not retain certain views, such as the Details view. But on my PCs, I have found that following these steps correctly does, in fact, make Details and other settings the default.

Set Win95 Default Folder Attributes: Win95 has trouble retaining default folder and Explorer window settings -- such as size, position, sort order, toolbar status and display type (large icons, details and so on). Here's an imperfect solution that may last weeks or months on your system. (On some people's systems, it may not work properly at all.) Open the folder for your C: drive, and without opening any other folders, arrange and configure it exactly as you'd like all your folders to appear. When you're ready to set the default, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift while you click the close box in the upper right-hand corner of the window. There's a limit to the number of specific folder instances Win95 can remember, so eventually your setting may roll off the list. Just repeat the steps to restore your settings.

If you've ever wondered which DLL files a program uses: here's how to find out: Right-click on the executable file and select QuickView. In the QuickView file, find the Import Table category. You'll see a list of DLLs the file uses, with additional details below the name of each DLL.

If Windows insists you start in Safe Mode, or if you're having some kind of hardware conflict: you want to make for the Device Manager fast. The trouble is, its hidden away under Control Panel's System option, or in a right-click menu under My Computer. To load it quickly, hold down the Window key on a 104-key keyboard and press the Pause/Break key. This brings up the System Properties box; click on the Device Manager tab, and you're there.

Keep a bootable copy of Win98 handy: for emergencies. Format a floppy disk with the option to copy system files. Copy C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANREG.EXE and C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS to the disk; add the line DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS to a CONFIG.SYS file on the disk. You'll be able to boot from the diskette and use the command "scanreg/restore" to restore the Registry on an unbootable configuration.

Reinstalling Windows: over itself doesn't always cure many of the problems users are hoping to cure. When Setup finds previous registry files it doesn't replace the registry, so any problem there would still remain. Removing the SYSTEM.DAT and SYSTEM.DA0 files from your Windows folder before reinstalling is usually enough to solve whatever problem you're experiencing. You may also, however, need to remove the USER.DAT and USER.DA0 files, but that will require you to reinstall most of your applications too.

Win98 has a tool that makes this a lot easier: SCANREG /RESTORE (boot to DOS and type that on command line). Scanreg automatically saves 5 copies of your registry and lets you restore them if you suspect a Registry corruption.

Win98 comes with a handy way to check your Registry for errors: Launch the Microsoft System Information (MSI) utility from Start/Accessories/System Tools/System Information, then select the Registry Checker from the Tools menu.

Shortcuts For Launching Your 10 Favorite Apps : If you don't use the number keys on the numeric keypad, you can use them as single-click keyboard shortcuts for launching your 10 favorite apps. Start by pressing the Num Lock key if it isn't already on. Next, right-click on an existing program shortcut and choose Properties. Open the Shortcut tab. Click once inside the Shortcut Key field, press the number key that you want to associate with the program, then click on OK. Repeat the steps for each app. For Internet Explorer, you'll have to make a shortcut to the Desktop icon first, then follow the same steps using the new shortcut. If your Num Lock key isn't turned on by default, check your system's BIOS setup for a Num Lock default setting.

Cascading Control Panel: Microsoft hasn't made it as easy to access the Control Panel as it should have (well, they do in Windows 2000). But in about 30 seconds, you can make Control Panel cascade from your Start menu simply and easily. That means you'll be able to open Add/Remove Programs, for example, without having to open or later close the Control Panel folder. And with this tip, even if programs add Control Panel applets, they'll show up automatically in the cascading menu. Or another way to say that is that it updates dynamically.

Windows fails to boot properly: press F8 for the Windows StartUp menu, and pick the Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT) option. It attempts a normal boot but records the status of every step Windows takes during the process. You can use this option to log a failed boot. Then, reboot to Safe mode if necessary and use a text editor to open BOOTLOG.TXT (in your root directory). Search for "fail" to find the boot steps Windows had trouble with. Failed steps are often excellent clues to the cause of the problem.

To determine which version of DirectX is installed: on your Win9x PC, look for DXTOOL.EXE or DXINFO.EXE in your C:\PROGRAM FILES\DIRECTX\SETUP folder. If you can't find them, use Start/Find/Files or Folders to search your hard drive. When you double-click on either one of these programs, you'll get version info; the DXTOOL.EXE file makes the info easier to read, but the other file gives more info. Older versions of DirectX may not include these tools, but all recent versions (4.x and newer) have them. As of this writing, DirectX 6.1 is available. Win98 users can snag the newest version from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. DirectX can also be obtained from Microsoft's web site at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp.

Wrong Association: Ever encounter an application that designates itself as the default program for a file extension previously owned by another program? The quickest way to get out of this jam under Win9x is to find an example of an incorrectly associated file. Click on the file once to select it, then hold down the Shift key while you right-click on it. Choose Open With. Select the correct program, check the "Always use this program to open this type of file" box and click on OK. Or, if you don't find the program, click on the Other button and navigate to the correct program on your drive.

Fonts: Print out all the fonts on your system by opening Control Panel, double-clicking the Fonts icon, then on the font of your choice and clicking on the Print button.

Safe Mode with CD Rom: Safe Mode is great for troubleshooting system problems, but you normally can't access your CD-ROM drive this way. Here's the secret: Restart your PC and hold down the Ctrl key to get to the Startup menu. Choose Command Prompt Only, type win /d:m at the prompt and press Enter; Windows will start in Safe Mode with the CD-ROM drivers. If you still can't access your CD-ROM drive, it means your real-mode CD-ROM drivers aren't installed. For installation instructions, send an e-mail message to mshelp@microsoft.com with Q190303 in the Subject line and nothing in the body of the message. Microsoft's automated help system will send back the instructions.

System Configuration Utility: gives you total control over your system startup and INI files and many other fine points of the OS. Go to C:\Windows\System\Mscongig.exe and make a shortcut to it and place it on your desktop or wherever you like!

Startup Menu: To get to the startup menu when you first boot up the computer, for safe mode or command prompt, hold down the Ctrl key when you first see any text on the screen during boot.

Startup Menu 2: If you wish to force Windows to go to the Startup menu each time you boot up the computer you must edit the MSDOS.sys file. Go to the root directory (C:\) find the MSDOS.sys file (you must be able to see all files even hidden), open it with Notepad, find the line Bootmenu=0 and change the 0 to a 1. If the line does not exist just type it in Bootmenu=1 in the [Options] section.

Find: Click anywhere on the desktop and press the F3 key. If you do this in Explorer it will start at the currently open folder!