Animated cursors - NT 4.0 Want to change to an animated cursor? Open Control Panel and double-click on the Mouse icon. When the dialog box opens, click on the Pointers tab. Now select the pointer you want to change and then click on Browse.

Copying shortcuts - NT 4.0
When you decide to place a shortcut on your desktop, you'll often find it convenient to work with an existing shortcut. For example, if you open the MS Office folder, you'll find shortcuts to all the Office applications. To place them on the desktop, select them and then right-drag them to their target folder. When you release the mouse button, the menu will open. Choose Copy Here. You'll have no problems with copied shortcuts as long as the originals stay in place.

MS-DOS placement - NT 4.0
If you want to decide where your MS-DOS window will open, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click on Console. When the dialog box opens, click on Layout and deselect the "Let system position window" check box. Now use the spin boxes to set the window's position.

Spaced out - NT 4.0
If you have some icons with relatively long names, you may find that the entire name won't show. You can make the entire name show by changing the horizontal icon spacing.

Open the window that contains the long name. Now right-click on the desktop and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click on the Appearance tab. Now click on the down arrow at the right of Item. When the list expands, select Icon Spacing (Horizontal). Use the spin box to increase the spacing. Make sure your long icon name is visible and then click on Apply. Now click on the window that contains your icon to activate it and then press F5 to refresh the window.

Choose your fonts - NT 4.0
If you'd like to examine the fonts available to your system, go to the \Winnt\Fonts folder. All the fonts are in this folder. You can view them to see exactly what they look like by simply double-clicking on the font you want to view.

If your font list is very long, you can trim it somewhat (without losing any fonts) by choosing View|Hide Variations(Bold, Italic, etc.). The font variations are still there; you just can't see them in the list. You can repeat the command to get them back into view.

Copy problem - NT 4.0
If you sometimes use the command prompt, here's a problem you need to know about. When you use the Copy command at the Windows NT 4.0 command prompt, it will fail to warn you when you're about to copy over a file of the same name. This is a bug, and Microsoft will probably announce a fix one of these days. In the meantime, just make sure what files are in the target folder before you start copying.

Microsoft's Powertoys - NT 4.0
We've mentioned in the past that TweakUI from PowerToys works in Windows NT 4.0. You can also use FlexiCD and DeskMenu. FlexiCD places an icon in the taskbar from which you can control your audio discs. DeskMenu places an icon in the taskbar that will give you access to the desktop from a menu on the toolbar.

To install these two utilities, put your PowerToys disk into Drive A and right-click on Deskmenu.inf. When the menu opens, select Install. To install FlexiCD, open the PowerToys floppy, right-click on Flexicd.inf, and choose Install from the menu.

Keep that emergency recovery disk - NT 4.0
Here's a doubly safe way to be ready in case of emergency. Let the system make an Emergency Recovery Disk (ERD) for you during installation, and then keep that disk. As you work with Windows NT, you should use Rdisk to make a new ERD, but use a new disk, not the one you made during installation. This way, you'll have an up-to-date disk and an original configuration disk.

Properties on the fly - NT 4.0
You don't necessarily have to open a folder or Windows NT Explorer to check a file's properties. You can check the item in the Start menu as well. Click on Start, Programs, and then select one you'd like to check and right-click on its icon in the menu. When the menu opens, choose Properties.

This is a helpful method to employ when you want to find a file's location. Right-click on it in the Start menu, choose Properties, and then click on the Shortcut tab. In Shortcut, click on Find Target and Windows NT will take you there.

Clean up start - NT 4.0
After a while, your Start menu will begin to fill up. When you have so many programs on the Start menu that it takes a few minutes just to locate the one you want to use, you will probably want to delete some of the programs that you seldom use. Many of us place our most-used programs in desktop folders and don't really need to have them duplicated in the Start menu. The easiest way to get rid of some of these files is to right-click on Start and choose Open All Users. When the window opens, you can select the programs you want to delete and press Delete.

The icons in the Start menu should be shortcuts. However, some programs might actually install themselves in the Start folder. So, make sure that the icons you're deleting are shortcuts. Any icons that are not shortcuts you need to keep.

Recovering from recycle - NT 4.0
When you inadvertently delete files, they go to the Recycle Bin. To recover the files, double-click on the Recycle Bin and select the files you want to keep. Next choose File, Restore. Frequently, the files you want to recover reside in the Recycle Bin along with a large collection of files you want to delete forever. To select only the files you want to restore, click on the first one and then hold down the Ctrl key while you select each of the files you want to restore. After you've selected them, click on File, Restore. All the selected files will be transferred back to the folder from which they came.

Sorting it out - NT 4.0, 3.51
Did you know you can customize the DIR command? You can set the DIR sort options so that when you do a DIR, the files will appear in the order you specify. To do this, type Set dircmd=\o:xxx /a at the command prompt.
For xxx substitute from the following list:

N - sorts by name
E - sorts by extension
D - sorts by date
S - sorts by size
A - sorts by last access date
G - sorts by groups directories first

No startup screen - NT 4.0, 3.51
You may have heard that you can eliminate, or change, the Windows 95 startup and shutdown screens. You never hear anything about Windows NT, though. Windows NT doesn't have a shutdown screen, but it does have a startup screen. If you'd like to eliminate this screen completely, open Windows NT Explorer and locate the Winnt folder. Now find the winnt.bmp and winnt256.bmp files and rename them. You can just change the extension if you like and name them winnt.old and winnt256.old. Of course, you can also substitute another .BMP file to make your own startup screen. Perhaps you'd like to use the company logo, or some personal photographs. To do this, copy your selected file into the Winnt folder and name it Winnt256.bmp. If your system is running at 256 or more colors, then you don't need to worry about winnt.bmp.

Why drag?
You can print a document quickly if you put a shortcut to the printer on your desktop and drag a document icon to it. You can do the job even quicker if you put a printer shortcut into the Send To folder.

To do this, open Windows NT Explorer and navigate to Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\Send To (assuming you're the administrator). Now click Start, Settings, Printers. When the Printers window opens, hold down Ctrl and drag the printer icon to the Send To folder.

Moonlight printing
If you'd like to print massive amounts of material while you sleep quietly, far removed from the smell of ozone, you can schedule your printing for when you're not around. To do this, click Start, Settings and choose Printers. When the Printer window opens, right-click your printer icon and choose Properties. Now click the Scheduling tab. Select From and then pick your time range. After you make the choices, click OK to close the dialog box and record your changes.

If you would like to print some documents immediately and some later as scheduled, you can create a new "printer" just like your current printer. The only difference is that you use scheduling on the second printer. You can give the new printer a distinctive name (such as Midnight) and use it to print those scheduled documents.

My computer knows all
You know you can double-click My Computer to access the disk drives, printer installation, the Control Panel, and dial-up networking. You can also use My Computer to obtain system information. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties. This opens the System Properties dialog box. You can right-click My Computer and choose Explorer to open My Computer in Explorer view.

Here's a My Computer trick that you might like to use: Double-click My Computer to open it. If you don't see the toolbar, then choose View, Toolbar to activate it. Now click the arrow at the right of the Address list box (right now the contents are My Computer). When the list expands, select Desktop. Now the window displays the contents of your desktop. You can minimize the window and choose it later from the taskbar when you need to get to one of the desktop icons.

Recycle as much as you want
You have a few options when it comes to the Recycle Bin. For example, you can specify how much disk space you want to devote to deleted (or potentially deleted) material.

To see what changes you can make to your Recycle Bin, right-click its icon and choose Properties. When the dialog box opens, you can select the amount of space used by the Recycle Bin. The default is 10 percent. If you like, you can also deselect the check box, Display Confirmation Dialog. With this deselected, you will no longer be asked if you're sure you want to move a file (or files) to the Recycle Bin. You'll still be prompted when you empty the Recycle Bin.

Sound advice
You can choose the sounds that you want to use for each Windows NT event. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Sounds icon. Click each Windows NT event to select it and then click Browse. Locate the sound you want to associate with the selected event and double-click it.

Now you can click the Play button in Preview to see if you like the sound you selected. If not, click Browse and choose a new sound. If you like the sound, move on to the next event and make a selection for it.

     

	Service Pack - Version 4.0 After you install Service Pack 3, you may notice 0x1E, 0xA bugchecks, lockups, or other random bugchecks when running McAfee NetShield or VirusScan. Your best approach is to uninstall the application and contact McAfee for a possible upgrade to resolve the problem.

Choose your fonts - Version 4.0
If you'd like to examine the fonts available to your system, go to the \Winnt\Fonts folder. All the fonts are in this folder. You can view them to see exactly what they look like by simply double-clicking on the font you want to view.

If your font list is very long, you can trim it somewhat (without losing any fonts) by choosing View|Hide Variations(Bold, Italic, etc.). The font variations are still there; you just can't see them in the list. You can repeat the command to get them back into view.

Multiple Printers - Version 4.0
If you periodically need to print something that uses a special setup, consider installing a new printer. You say you have only one printer? Don't worry--Windows NT doesn't really know.

Choose Start|Settings|Printers and then double-click on Add Printer. Follow the Wizard to install your new printer. Give it a different name from the original printer.

Looking for an image - Version 4.0
If you'd like to use a simple image program, try loading Windows NT imaging software. Although this program (applet really) sports abbreviated editing capabilities, it will do many simple graphic manipulations.

If you have a scanner installed on your computer, you can use the imaging software to handle the scanner output for you. Just make sure you install all the scanner driver software before you install the imaging software.

Dont't be frustrated - Version 4.0
Let's say you're working with a Control Panel tool and switch to an application. To get back to the Control Panel tool, you press Alt-Tab. The tool isn't in the list.

This is not an error. Since Control Panel tools are treated as modeless dialog boxes, they are always part of Control Panel.

Upgrading checklist - Version 4.0
If you're thinking of upgrading some computers in your organization from Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0, you need to consider a few points before you spend any money or time.

Windows 95 supports more than 1000 devices than does Windows NT. Make sure you have device drivers for all your hardware before you start an installation. Although you may think that most Windows 95 drivers will work with NT, this is not the case.

Uninstalling network printers - Version 4.0
You can uninstall a printer (local or network) by simply choosing Start|Settings|Printers and then selecting the printer and pressing Delete. If Windows NT asks if you want to delete the files associated with the printer, choose Yes if you're sure you won't reinstall the printer and No if you're not so sure.

Note that you may not be able to uninstall some networked printers because they are attached to a dedicated printer server and take orders only from a controller. In this case, you'd have to have permission to uninstall the printer.

Sound off - Version 4.0
If you like to use sounds to alert you when something happens, open Control Panel and double-click on the Sounds icon. Now you can select a sound for any Windows NT occurrence.

If you'd like to have more sounds at your disposal, double-click on Add/Remove Programs and then click on the Windows NT Setup tab. Double-click on Multimedia and select all the extra sounds. Click on OK to close the dialog box and then click on OK to install the new sounds. You'll have to insert your Windows NT CD to install the sounds. You need to use the \i386 directory on the CD.

Avoiding clutter - Version 4.0
If you need to open a folder and then open a folder in that folder, etc., etc., but you don't want to leave a trail of folders on your desktop, here 's what you can do: Open the main folder. Now hold down Ctrl and double-click on the subfolder you want to open. The new folder will open and the original folder will close.

The only drawback is that the subfolder will open in the same format as the main folder. If the main folder was set to Large Icons, then the subfolder will open with large icons even if it was originally set to List.

Setting up a soundcard - Version 4.0
To set up a sound card In Windows NT 4.0, determine the card's selections (I/O port, interrupt number), turn off the computer, insert the card, and restart the computer. Now open Control Panel and double-click on the Multimedia icon. When the dialog box opens, click on the Devices tab.

Now select Audio Devices and click on Add. (You'll probably need to insert your Windows NT 4.0 CD at this point). When offered a driver selection, choose the device that matches your sound card. Set the I/O to match your card and click on Continue. Now set the interrupt to match and click on OK. You'll be prompted to restart. After the restart, your sound card should function.

Deleting a derectory tree - Version 4.0
Some Windows NT 4.0 users have asked about a command similar tothe Windows 95 Deltree command. You can accomplish the same thing in Windows NT 4.0 by using the Rmdir command.

Try this: Create a new folder and then create within that folder a subfolder. Now place some files in the subfolder. You can use copies of existing files from another folder. Just make sure you copy (not move) the files. Now go to the command prompt and type

     

	Change StartUp - Version 4.0 You can change your Windows NT Workstation startup by opening the Control Panel, then double- clicking the System icon. You can also modify startup by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Properties, then clicking the Startup/Shutdown tab.

Floppy deletion protection - Version 4.0
Ordinarily, all files deleted from floppy disk drives are gone forever. However, if you like, you can send these files to the Recycle Bin indirectly and provide yourself with some deletion protection. Create a new folder on your desktop and name it Trash. Now move files from the floppy to Trash where you can keep them until it's safe to delete them. Then you can move them to the Recycle Bin where you'll still have some protection.

The geek's way to clear documents - Version 4.0
>If you'd like to clear the Documents menu with a simple double-click, you can write a batch file such as the one shown here. To write the batch file, open NotePad and type

move d:\winnt\profiles\YourProfile\recent\*.* c:\recycled

Make it automatic - Version 4.0
The tip before showed you how to create a batch file that clears the Documents menu. If you'd like to have Zap.BAT automatically clear the Documents menu so you can start with a clean slate every day, place a shortcut to Zap into the Start Up folder. Once again, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Then click Shortcut and choose Minimized from the Run list box. Click OK to close the dialog box and record your changes. Warning: Don't forget that Zap will permanently delete all files in the target folder. Make absolutely sure you have entered the correct path.

Close to you - Version 4.0
Let's suppose that you opened a floppy disk to see what's on it and then you decide to format it. You right-click the Floppy drive icon and choose Format. All looks well, but when you start formatting, Windows NT will decline to continue. The reason is that you can't format a floppy disk that's open. To format the disk, close any window that displays the floppy's contents. Now choose Format again and all will proceed as it should.

Who you gonna call? - Version 4.0
If you need some quick help on how to use an MS-DOS command in the Command Prompt window, at the prompt type Command /?in which Command is the name of the command you need to use. When you press Enter, you'll get information on how to use the command.

You can also get help by clicking the Command Prompt's Command button, then choosing Properties. When the dialog box opens, click Help. When finished using Help, click OK or Cancel to close the dialog box.

Don't call 911, update your repair disk
Whenever you make a change to your hardware or software setup, you should also update your Emergency Repair disk. To do this, insert the Repair disk into the floppy disk drive and click Start. Choose Help, then click the Index tab. Type Repair Disk and click Display. Click the Repair Disk button. When the dialog box opens, click Update Repair Info. When the operation finishes, click Exit. If another dialog box appears asking if you want to create a Repair disk, click No. Now close Help.

Stop that CHKDSK - Versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
If you run CHKDSK /F /R from a command prompt, the system asks if you want to run CHKDSK the next time you start the system. Suppose you answer Yes and then later decide that you'd rather not run CHKDSK on the next restart.

To stop a scheduled CHKDSK, you have to edit the Registry. So be careful. Run RegEdit32 and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager. Now double-click on BootExecute. When the dialog box opens, change the value to autocheck autochk *. and click on OK. Close RegEdit32. When you restart, CHKDSK /F will not run.

   

Run, run, run - Version 4.0
When you want to run a program that you know is available but isn't in the Start menu, you don't have to search the disk for the file. Instead, click on Start|Run and type in the file name. For example, if you want to run RegEdit, click on Start|Run, type in RegEdit and press Enter.

This works for Registered programs that are in the path. You can also use this method to run programs that don't require Registry entries provided they are either in the path, or you supply the full path and file name.

Hiding and not hiding - Version 4.0
If you have several users that you think might benefit from having the known file extensions hidden, you can still display selected extensions.

To hide the extensions, open a window and choose View|Options. Next, click on the View tab (if it isn't already selected). Now select the Hide File Extensions for Known File Types check box. Click on OK to close the dialog box and record your change.

A quick look at quickview - Version 4.0
Many users wonder why QuickView isn't an available option for some files. The fact is you can make QuickView available for almost any file type. The problem is that QuickView may not do you much good with some files.

Let's say that QuickView isn't available for .DAT files. Open a window and choose View|Options. Click on the File Types tab and then (assuming that .DAT isn't already included) click on New. Now click in the Associated extension text entry box and type in .DAT. Select the Enable QuickView check box and click on OK. In the Options dialog box click on OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.Locate a .DAT file now and right-click on its icon. When the menu opens, choose QuickView to view the file's contents.

Fonts and formats - Version 4.x, 95
If you get a Word document from someone else and find that the font looks terrible on your computer, you may not have the font that the originator of the document used. When this happens, Word will substitute a font that you do have for the one you don't. The problem is that the selected font sometimes doesn't look very good in the document.

If this is a problem that you encounter often, it may be worth purchasing the needed font. An alternative approach is to reformat the document using a font that you do have--one that hopefully looks better than the one Word selected.

Find it quickly - Version 4.0
When you're working in Explorer, you can open Find very quickly by simply pressing F3. Find will open with the path of the currently selected folder in Look In. You can change the path if necessary by typing in the new path. If you prefer, you can click on Browse, locate the new path, and click on OK.

Run-ning on empty
Want to delete an item from your Run list--the one that appears when you select Start, Run, and click the down arrow? All it takes is a quick trip to the Registry. (As always, back it up first: Open the Registry Editor, select Export Registry File under the Registry menu; navigate to where you'd like to store the backup file, name the file and click on Save.)

Open the Registry Editor (select Start, Run, type "regedit" and click on OK), and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RunMRU. In the right pane, right-mouse click on the letter (in the Name column) next to any item you'd like to remove from the list, and select Delete. Click on Yes in the dialog box that pops up, and the item is gone. Repeat these steps to delete any other items [just make sure not to delete "MRUList" or "(Default)"]. Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 95, and check out your slimmed-down Run list.

What is my CD-Key? - Version 4.0
It's easy to lose track of the Windows NT CD case. But if you do lose the case, you also lose the CD Key unless you've already written it down somewhere. This is a problem when you need to re- install.

So, let's look at how you can use RegEdit to get the system to show you the CD Key. As usual, be careful when editing the Registry. Open RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion. Look at ProductId. The CD Key is digits 6 through 15. Copy the number into a NotePad file and save it where you can easily find it. It wouldn't hurt to write it down and file it away in your desk just to be safe.Close RegEdit after you copy the number.

Warning: Don't do anything to change the CD Key--just copy the number and exit RegEdit.

   

Toggle Keys - Version 4.0
Even if you don't need most of the features included in Windows NT 4.0's Accessibility Options, you may find the Toggle Keys feature handy. When activated, Toggle Keys beeps when you press any of the toggle keys (Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock). You'll never again type in all caps without knowing it.

To set Toggle Keys, open Control Panel and double-click on Accessibility Options. Click on the Keyboard tab and then select the Use Toggle Keys check box. Click on OK to close the dialog box and record the change. Close Control Panel and you're all finished.

Checking disk performance - NT 3.1, 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
The Performance Monitor won't monitor disk performance unless you turn on the disk counters first. To do this, go to the Command prompt and type diskperf -Yand press Enter. Now restart the computer.When Windows NT starts again, you can monitor disk activity with the Performance Monitor.

Since the counters will affect disk performance (very slightly) you should turn them off when you're finished with your testing. To turn off the counters, go to the Command prompt again, and typediskperf -Npress Enter, and then restart the computer.

Documents, documents everywhere - Version 4.0
To revisit documents you click Start|Documents and make your choice. The only problem with Documents is that the menu can get rather full after a while. To clean out this list and make a new, um, start, click Start|Settings|Taskbar, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click Clear, then OK to clear the documents menu.

Whatta drag - Version 4.0
Let's say you're using the mouse to drag an object from one place to another when you realize you don't want to make that move at all. Don't panic, just keep holding down that mouse button and press Esc to cancel the move (or copy). Now release the mouse button.

Printing on the fly
If you'd like to print documents using the drag-and-drop method, you need to make the printer icon readily available. The best way to handle this is to place a shortcut to the printer on your desktop.

To do this, click Start and choose Printers. When the Printers window opens, use the right mouse button to drag the printer to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) here. Now all you have to do is drag documents to the printer icon to print them. The documents, however, must be registered files that will open the appropriate application.

Exploring folders
If you'd like to quickly open a folder in Explorer view, select the folder, hold down the Shift key, and double-click the folder. You can open Start in Explorer view by right-clicking Start, then choosing Explore.

Do you really need to click on start?
If you'd like to get rid of the Click on Start arrow that appears whenever possible, you can do the job with a bit of Registry editing.

Now for the usual warning: You can really mess up your installation if you mess up the Registry. Be careful !

Run RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVe rsion\Policies\Explorer. If there's an entry named NoStartBanner, double-click on the entry to open it. You'll see four initial zeroes. After these zeroes, type in 01 00 00 00(you don't need to enter the spaces, RegEdit does it for you). Click on OK and close RegEdit. Now restart the computer and you'll never see that arrow again.

If there's no NoStartBanner entry, you need to create one. Right-click on RegEdit's right pane and choose New|Binary Value. Name your new entry NoStartBanner. Double-click on your new entry and then enter the values as described above.

     

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