Windows 98
Orientation Guide  by Graeme Bennett

This page contains info on Windows 98, formerly known as "Memphis." Priced at C$249.95, Win98 is now publicly available, with upgrades listed at C$129.95 (and, at this writing available for about $100). Last updated July 2, 1998.

Read our special reports:
Windows 98 Installation & Setup Tips
Windows 98 Multimedia
Windows 98 Troubleshooting
Windows 98 Tech Tips

This document has been expanded to include orientation information for Windows 3.1 users and others unfamiliar with 32-bit versions of Windows. See our reports listed above or visit Microsoft's website at http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/ for more info on Windows 98.

Section 1: What's New

New Features: The most obvious new feature of Windows 98 is its so-called Active Desktop, which integrates the Internet Explorer 4.0 web browser into the Windows environment. Of course, IE 4.0 is already available as a free add-on for Windows 95 and NT 4.0 systems, so this is not the most compelling reason to upgrade for existing IE4 users. However, based on our tests of prerelease code, Microsoft's claims that the final release of Windows 98 will provide better Active Desktop performance than the Win95 add-on version appear to be true (despite the fact that preliminary Win98 benchmarks suggest that its graphics subsystem performance and bus throughput speeds are a little lower than those of Windows 95). The OS boots faster; Internet Explorer and Outlook both loaded more quickly than they did in Win95, plug-and-play hardware detection is much faster, and the new OS' optimization scheduler that automatically rearranges the disk-block arrangement your frequently used programs is likely to further boost application load times for most users. It significantly improved the loading speed of Microsoft Word 97 and other applications on our test system. For some users, this will be a big benefit. For others, cutting load time 30 percent (e.g., from 10 seconds to 7), won't matter much.

New Hardware Support:

Win98 improves support for scanners (especially SCSI "C" and "P" series models from Hewlett-Packard), fonts, 3D accelerators, sound, color management of scanners, printers and displays, and networking functions. Further, Microsoft promises to reduce administration costs by offering a subset of the ZAW and IntelliMirror functions slated for inclusion  in NT 5.0 after that OS's release, although those primarily interested in these features may find Win98's implementations to be superficial compared to those promised in NT 5.0.

 

New Software Support:

Computer/TV integration
Using DirectShow and other aspects of the DirectX 5.1 architecture from Microsoft, Win98 offers support for DVD and a number of video capture devices that improve the system's video prowess over that of Win95 or previous releases. We tested the online "G-Guide" (basically, an online version of TV Guide) with an ATI All-in-Wonder, which the OS provides direct support for. In beta 3, the documentation for the TV Tuner component claimed that the final release would be able to handle input from a VCR or DVD device. And sure enough, this feature is included in the retail version, although we couldn't get it to work reliably. In general, we found the ATI video input software much more reliable than Microsoft's.

Capture Hardware supported:
The following capture hardware is supported by the DirectShow audio and video capture filters (as appropriate):

As mentioned above, the ATI All in Wonder (and Pro) is currently the best supported TV tuner/capture card. For more info on DirectX and Win98 Multimedia, see Microsoft's DirectX website at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/

Also, visit the HWDev website for info on   PC98 hardware specs.

What's Not in Win98
The ability to send faxes, a function included in Windows 95, at first appears to be missing from Win98, although a careful examination of the CD reveals the old Windows 95 fax driver lurking in a directory appropriately called OLDWIN95. See our Tech Tips report for detail on this and other alternatives.
At the Windows 98 launch on June 25, Windows product manger Brad Chase revealed that a couple of features will be added to the product in the Fall of 1998. One, dubbed Chrome, is an impressive, but processor-hungry technology for viewing web pages and other data in "3-D space." A more beginner-oriented feature is the Task Center, which will walk new users through tasks such as changing a screen saver, setting up a desktop theme, and so on.
Automatic backup to registries, remote booting and network caching of users' desktops will not be supported in Windows 98, according to Phil Holden, product manager in Microsoft's Windows Platform Group. The operating system will support As well, Microsoft scaled back its early plans to include IntelliMirror in Windows 98. The company now says that after Windows NT 5.0 ships, a future update to Win98 will provide "partial IntelliMirror support."
AppStation and TaskStation policies now supported under ZAK in Windows 95.
Although Win98 includes a personal web server, user profiles and new networking functions such as point-to-point tunneling (allowing the creation of virtual private networks), it lacks several of the advanced networking and security features of NT 5.

Although some TV-related functions, such as the ability to download website data from a TV broadcast, were not implemented in the publicly available beta 3 release, this feature is present in the retail release. Speedy it's not, though. But, considering that it can download Internet information without requiring the use of a phone line, or even an account with an Internet Service Provider, we doubt few will complain.

New installation
Upgrading an existing Windows 3.x or Windows 95 system to Windows 98 for the first time is neither difficult not particularly risky. Windows 98, is not significantly different than Windows 95 OSR2 with IE4's "web integration" feature installed and enabled, and, if not for the unique "animated menus" and the version build number info in the lower right corner of the Win98 screen (which you can hide by turning on the "Active Desktop" feature), you might not realize you were using a different OS. (There are, however, minor differences, such as the different icons you see in the upper right corner of an explorer window when you are browsing the web vs. when you are viewing a local drive.) However, lurking behind this mostly-familiar facade are many new features.

Although speech command technology was rumoured to be part of the final release, it is not present. However, a number of third-party programs (we prefer those based on "NaturallySpeaking" technology from Dragon Systems) can add this capability. For more information, see our reports on Speech Technology:

Talking to your Computer (Updated Jan. 2, 1998) - Continuous speech recognition that works.
Speech Recognition in Q2 '98 - A "hands-off" product review created by dictating with a microphone.

In this Installation & Orientation Guide, we'll help you to understand the new features "under the cover" and configure your system for peak performance. However, before we begin, for the sake of prudence and your peace of mind, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1) Windows 98 takes approximately 225 MB of disk space for a typical installation (170MB minimum, although about 50MB of that is temporary space only). However, after installing and using a number of programs, your Windows folder can easily balloon to 400 megabytes or more. Don't configure your system with a boot partition that is too small. We'd recommend a boot partition of 500 megabytes of disk space on a fast hard disk for a "comfortable" installation. You can shoehorn it into systems with less free space, but most - if not all - of the extra goodies in the package are worth installing if you can spare the room.

2) Memory requirements are similar to those of Windows 95 -- in other words, you should have 32 megabytes minimum for acceptable performance (16MB minimum). Windows 98 runs optimally on systems with 32 to 64 megabytes of RAM, a fast hard drive and a Level 2 cache. Some features, like USB and ACPI support, require specific hardware, of course.

3) Not enough disk space? Windows 98 includes DriveSpace3 disk-compression software for FAT16 partitions and can approximately double a disk's capacity -- useful on notebook computers and other systems where optimal performance is not the primary requirement. Note, however, that the uninstall option in Windows 98 that allows you to revert to your old OS isn't available on a compressed drive. The Windows 98 version of DriveSpace (pictured here) is the same as the one shipped with Windows 95 OSR2. Windows 98 also supports the new FAT32 format which can recover 20 percent of the disk space wasted by FAT16 on drives larger than 500MB. We'll discuss FAT 32 and how it improves the inefficient cluster design of previous DOS versions later in this document. For now, the important issue is to note that the FAT32 format no longer supports compressed drives. DriveSpace has been updated to recognize FAT32 partitions; it just doesn't let you compress them. So, if you have used DOS (version 6 or newer) or Windows 95 to compress the data on your hard disk, you will not be able to enable the FAT32 feature for that drive. Fortunately, it is possible to set FAT32 on for some drives, and leave others as FAT16 or compressed FAT16.

Images:
Compression Agent
Compressing a Drive
Scanning for applications incompatible with FAT32
Selecting a drive to convert

The best solution is to just go out and buy a larger hard disk (for a few hundred dollars, your dealer can add a second hard disk to virtually any computer).

4) Assuming that you now have the required disk space, what about random access memory? Although Windows 98 will run - and we use the term "run" generously - in 12 megabytes of RAM, it really isn't something we'd advise. We strongly recommend upgrading to at least 32 (or preferably 48 or 64) megabytes of RAM before making the leap to Windows 98.

5) If however, you are stuck with 16MB megabytes of RAM, think slim. Although a fresh installation Win98 provides the same "Compact" installation option that existed in Windows 95, you won't see it if you upgrade your existing Windows 95 installation.You can, however, uninstall items you don't need via the Control Panel's Add/Remove Software option. You can also uninstall the Active Desktop and IE4 integration features using Microsoft's TweakUI control panel, to save RAM and speed things up a little. See also More info on RAM.

We recommend....
Windows 98 includes an option to save your previous DOS and Windows files, allowing you to uninstall it if something goes wrong. This option requires an additional 50 MB or so of "undo" space on your drive. Thus, if you have a Pentium 100 or better, 225 megabytes or more of free disk space and have at least sixteen megabytes of RAM, you are likely to have a successful and positive upgrade experience.

Before you begin...
We'd recommend that, before upgrading, you back up your important data.

Based on the size of the OS, we think obtaining the version on floppy disks woulf be a bad idea. With prices of CD-ROM drives as low as they are, we'd strongly advise installing a CD-ROM before jumping to Win98 (or even venturing into a software store). In addition to its availability in Full and Upgrade versions on CD-ROM, some manufacturers supply Win98 pre-installed on systems.

The Emergency startup boot disk that Windows 98 prompts you to create during its setup process contains a universal CD-ROM driver (supporting most brands of IDE and SCSI CD-ROM drives), making it easier to install or reinstall the OS as necessary. An uninstall option is also provided.

Warning: Like Windows 95, Windows 98 does not include built-in anti-virus protection, although programs such as McAfee VirusScan 3.x work well with the new release (and, in fact, the optional Plus pack for Win98 includes the McAfee VirusScan program). Thanks to its high compatibility with existing Windows 95 titles, we have not found compatibility problems with many apps, although there were a few applications (MacLAN Connect 6.1, QuickTime 2.x, Applica U2, ATI Turbo Drivers, etc.), that check for specific Windows version numbers that  caused problems.

For more info on how to check for and safeguard against computer viruses, visit http://www.mcafee.com/, http://www.symantec.com/ or ask your dealer.

Tip: copy the Win98 directory from the CD onto your computer's hard disk for added convenience and reduced setup times while you are setting up your system. When Windows 98 asks for the CD-ROM to load device drivers, etc., just browse to the location on your hard disk where you've copied the directory. You can always delete it later. A hard-disk-based installation takes only about 15 minutes, compared to 30-60 minutes for an installation from CD-ROM. It is best to uninstall the active desktop (web integration) option of IE4 before installing Win98, although we have tempted fate by not doing this with no dire consequences. Users of the beta version of IE5 will see a dialog that strongly recommends uninstalling that product before attempting to install Win98. Follow that advice -- they're not kidding.

Despite its high compatibility with Windows 95, an issue that's worth considering is the possibility that certain hardware and software you currently use might not work properly under Windows 98. We'll discuss several solutions to this problem - including one method that's 100-percent guaranteed to provide full compatibility, but we'd recommend that you make a list of any programs you simply have to use, and ask your dealer or local Windows expert if he or she knows of any incompatibilities related to that program and Windows 98 and, if so, whether an updated version or workaround is available. Fortunately, we've found only a few Windows 95 or NT4-compatible hardware devices with Windows 98 compatibility problems: so far, only the GVOX guitar interface and Applica U2 caused us problems, and only the latter product, a card and cabling system that allows two users to share one CPU, caused serious "blue screen of death" errors. A message on the Applica website (http://www.applica.com/) says that Applica does not currently support Windows 98. The company says a free upgrade for Applica that supports Windows 98 will be available for download by August 1.

Because Windows 98 supports the same drivers as Windows 95, chances are good that drivers for more many existing devices will work. Further, because Microsoft has distributed Windows 98 to the attendees at the WinHEC hardware engineering conference in April 1997, developers have had time to ensure that their products can be updated to take advantage of new Windows 98 features before its release. However, we strongly recommend that you use native Win98 drivers for displays, sound cards and other hardware whenever possible.

We had software problems with:
MacDrive 95 (however, MacDrive 98 works well), MacLAN Connect 6.1, QuickTime 2.x (do we detect a trend here?).
The taskbar icon for the Terratec EWS64XL sound card's mixer showed up partly off-screen, but otherwise worked well. As always, check the manufacturer's website for an update if you encounter problems.

See also More info on Upgrading.

For the sake of brevity, we'll assume that you are familiar with the general process of setting up a PC and installing Windows 95; you will find Windows 98 almost identical. After reading the release notes and ensuring that your hardware is supported, make sure that all your system's peripherals are turned on. Insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM or locate the appropriate directory on your drive and, if the Autostart function does not make the welcome screen pop up automatically, run Setup.

If you attempt to install Windows 98 onto a hard disk or partition larger than 500 megabytes, it will ask you if you want to enable large disk support. This is the FAT32 option mentioned earlier. As the release notes mention, FAT32 is no faster than FAT16 and is, in some cases a little slower. On systems with partitions larger than 1.2GB, enabling FAT32 makes good sense. For maximum flexibility in the configuration of FAT16 or FAT32 partitions, we'd recommend Power Quest's Partition Magic 3.0. This product can even turn a FAT32 partition back into FAT16 -- something Windows 98 is not normally able to do.

The first thing Windows 98 does is check your system's hard disks for errors. We've found that, if you have certain types of removable storage devices, such as a magneto-optical or floptical drive, you might need to eject the disks before Windows 98's Setup will allow you to continue.

Once the check is done, Windows 98 loads the so-called Setup Wizard, which will guide you through the installation procedure. If you're not familiar with the concept of these Help Wizards, let's just say you'll be seeing a lot of them in Windows 98 and related products.

Here is what you're likely to see during the Windows 98 Setup:
1) Preparing to run Windows 98 Setup
When the Win98 installer first runs, it checks the system for disk errors, etc. This takes several minutes. While these procedures are underway, a clock on the left side of the screen updates the estimated time left in the Setup procedure. The whole process usually takes 30 to 60 minutes.
Then, a Setup Wizard runs, to guide you throught the rest of the setup process. It will prompt you to quit any running applications if necessary. - Next, the license agreement screen appears. Read it, then click OK.
2) Collecting Information about your computer
Setup initialized the systems' registry database. This takes about five minutes. It then checks for installed components and ensures that you have enough disk space. At this point, it aks you whether you want to save your existing DOS and Windows system files, so you can uninstall Windows 98 if necessary. This requires up to 50MB of disk space.
The entire procedure requires about 150 MB of disk space, with some of the optional multimedia components, such as the TV tuner functions, pushing installation requirements to more than 170MB.
Windows 98 then prompts you to prepare an Emergency Startup floppy. If you have trouble starting Windows 98, this disk can be used to restart your computer or run diagnostic programs. By the way, this emergency floppy provides a new startup option: CD-ROM support (IDE only). This makes it easy to reinstall Windows 98 (or another OS, if you prefer) from CD-ROM, if you can no longer boot up from your PCs hard drive.
3) Copying Windows 98 files to your computer
As the Setup Wizard is copying files to your hard disk, numerous pictures of grinning people of various ages and ethnic origins are shown while Windows 98 features are listed on the screen, such as the items shown here:

4) Restarting your computer
After the files have been copies to your hard drive, Windows 98 restarts your computer, updating your configuration files. This takes a few minutes.
5) Setting up hardware and finalizing settings.
Warning: at least in some beta versions (e.g., build 1650) we tested, old device drivers from previously installed and removed hardware tended to foul up the system's plug and play hardware detection. Fortunately, the official release version seems to be better behaved. If the system crashes during Setup, restart by pressing F8 when you hear the "beep" at startup. Choose "Safe mode" from the menu that appears. Then, open the System control panel. Click the Device Manager tab and delete references to devices that are not on your system by clicking each name and then clicking the "Remove" button. If you are not sure, there is no harm in deleting a device driver that is needed. The system will detect the hardware and reinstall it, prompting you for the Windows 98 CD-ROM if needed.

As the Windows 98 setup proceeds, it may encounter DLLs or other existing system software components newer than the ones you are about to install. It will ask you whether you want to replace or keep the newer item. We have tried both options. It appears that following its on-screen recommendations to keep the newer item does not cause any ill effects.

Selecting the directory where you want to install Windows 98:
You're given the option to install Windows 98 "on top of" your existing DOS and Windows installation, or, you may install it into a different directory.

This choice of whether to replace your existing DOS and Windows or install Windows 98 to a separate directory is about the only really tough choice you'll have to make. Here are the pros and cons of each choice.

Install to same directory

Pro: You don't have to reinstall applications; system automatically migrates system settings and existing Program Manager groups; saves disk space.

Con: If a program or hardware device isn't compatible with Windows 98, you are out of luck.

Install to different directory

Pro: guaranteed compatibility with all hardware and software; you can switch at will between Windows 98 and DOS/Windows 3.1 (etc.) simply by holding down the F4 key at startup time. Note that, if you enabled FAT32 on the boot drive, this "dual-boot" option does not work without use of a third-party patch.

Con: you have to reinstall all your applications; your old DOS/Windows directories and related files take up additional room on hard disk.

On balance, we'd say that, for most users who are upgrading, it's a lot easier to replace the existing DOS/Windows. Moderately advanced users with new computers, where there are few, if any applications pre-installed on the hard disk, or users with new hard drives (especially large ones!) might gain some peace of mind from the knowledge that there won't be any programs that won't run on their systems, but for the average user, this level of sophistication--and the additional complexity that comes with it--may be overkill. For the record, we have several systems with both versions of Windows on them, and we seldom if ever have the need - or inclination--to switch back to Windows 3.1. However, the more likely you are to purchase "exotic" (non-mainstream/special-purpose) hardware or software, the more inclined we are to recommend the switch-boot option.

Next, the system checks for installed components and checks to make sure there is enough free disk space.

Tip: If the setup procedure freezes or crashes, try shutting off the PC, disconnecting peripherals and trying again.

One compelling new feature of Windows 98 is its support for multiple displays, where each monitor can display different information. To use this feature, you must use Win98's display drivers (your primary display can not be AGP!). You should install Windows 98 with the primary PCI display adapter only, and then, once it is set up and working, shut down, add the second graphics card and monitor, and let Windows 98's plug-and play feature take it from there.

For example, if you had a Matrox Millennium and an S3-based video card, you might start with only the Millennium card in the system. When Windows 98 has booted, shut down and attach the second video card and monitor. When Windows 98 re-boots, it recognizes the second card and presents a message that says "If you can read this message, Windows hasd successfully initialized this display adapter. To use this adapter as part of your Windows desktop, run the display applet from the Windows control panel."

Unfortunately, if you do not see that message, it most likely means that your secondary adapter cannot be used. Try a different graphics adapter.

Network
During the installation process, you will be asked to identify your network protocol if the system detects a network card. It doesn't really matter if you choose NetBEUI, TCP/IP or some other protocol initially, you can configure others and add or remove items at any time.

Tip: You can add an improved set of QuickView drivers to Windows 98 or Windows 95 system using Inso QuickView Plus or Adobe File Utilities. See the Tips section of our report on Win98 Setup for more QuickView details.

Some users don't bother installing the items listed under "Accessibility options," but they have at least one useful function: the ability to make your system beep when you accidentally press the Caps Lock key. Just turn on the ToggleKeys" feature in the Accessibility control panel.

Hopefully, the rest of the installation process will go as smoothly for you as it has for us. Most users agree that Windows 98 is quite simple to install and configure, at least during the installation process.

When, at last, the installation is completed (as mentioned earlier, this takes between 30 and 60 minutes when installed from CD-ROM), the system restarts (perhaps more than once, depending on the options you choose) and, after a few screens that allow you to configure the time zone and various other options, you arrive at the Windows 98 desktop.

If Windows 98 did not identify one or more device connected to your system, try installing a Windows 95 driver, or refer to the Troubleshooting section.

Section 2

Important Startup commands

F4 - if you chose to install Windows 98 to a separate directory than a previous Windows 3.1 installation on a system with a FAT16 boot disk, holding down F4 at startup time runs your previous version of DOS and Windows.

F5 - bypasses your startup files and starts Windows 98 in "Safe Mode."

F8 - allows you to choose from several startup options that affect the configuration and, in some cases, the mode your computer starts up in. Descriptions are provided on the (F8) Startup Menu screen, so we won't repeat them here, but the one you may find most useful is Safe Mode. An option that includes network services in also available.

"Safe Mode" is useful for troubleshooting, or temporarily bypassing auto-starting programs or device drivers that may be causing your system to crash. If your system crashes or has another serious problem caused by a piece of software or hardware you've recently added to your PC, the system will automatically invoke Safe Mode, in order to allow you to remove or reconfigure the driver software.

If all else fails, Win98 includes a set of standard CD-ROM drivers on the emergency floppy boot disk it builds during the initial installation process, making it a simple matter to reinstall components from CD in the event of a catastrophe.

For more info, see Troubleshooting your System.

The Taskbar

Although the standard Windows 98 interface is very similar to that of Windows 95 with IE4 installed (differing mostly in the way its drop-down menus "swing out" into position), most users will probably want to enable Win98's "Web View" and Active Desktop features, which provides a variety of user interface enhancements such as previews of graphics and HTML files, single-click file access and an overall "browser metaphor." When this option is enabled, Windows 98 has a very different look and feel than earlier Windows releases had. IE4 users will already be familiar with the most prominent new feature: the enhancement made to the Taskbar along the bottom of the screen. You can add documents or programs -- or virtually anything else -- to the taskbar, and even configure multiple toolbars as you wish. Toolbars can be "torn off" and pulled into the middle of the screen where they become floating palettes, too. Click the right mouse button in the taskbar to see and configure the new toolbar options.

Incidentally, if you absolutely don't want these features, and prefer Windows 98 to look as much as possible like Windows 95, you can uninstall the Active Desktop and IE4 integration features using Microsoft's freely downloadable TweakUI control panel. It also allows numerous other interface tweaks. You'll find it at www.microsoft.com/windows

Another change in the way the toolbars work is evident with a single click. Applications can be minimized or maximized with a single click on their taskbar icon. This single-click interface manifests in virtually all aspects of the IE4-integrated Windows 98 interface. (Unlike Win95+IE4, Win98 does not allow you to disable the IE4 shell integration with the Add/Remove control panel). For more information on navigating the new interface and accessing Win98 features, see the Windows Help menu.

The Task Bar is used for more than getting new users up and running, however. Microsoft says that, during its usability testing of Windows 3.1, it discovered that only 24 percent of experienced users switched between maximized applications with the Alt-Tab key combination (Alt-Tab still works, by the way). In Windows 98, the names of running apps show up in the Task Bar, which is visible (and movable) at all times. A single click on an application's name in the Task Bar switches to it.

To move the Task bar to the top or side of your screen, click on it and hold the left mouse button down as you drag it to a new position. Note that you can also adjust its width by dragging to edge of it to be as wide or narrow as you like.

Windows 98 also allows the default Task bar or any of your custom toolbars to be slid to any edge of the screen, or set to auto-hide. You can turn this feature on for the default bar with the Start menu's Settings:Taskbar... option. For custom toolbars, just right click in the toolbar and choose "auto-hide." You may need to select "Always on Top" before you can select the auto-hide command. Then, drag the bar to the position you want it.

Important Taskbar/Start Menu commands and shortcuts

Finding Files or Folders

As with Windows 95, F3 is the Windows 98 shortcut for invoking the Find command (for finding files, folders or other information). But it works much better when the IE4 shell is enabled. the shell allows Find to remember the last directory accessed; without it, it defaults to whatever directory is currently active.

Try this: Click on the Desktop and then press F3. Notice that the Find dialog that pops up defaults to c:\Windows\Desktop. This isn't a very useful place to begin searching, and may not find the item you're looking for (unless it is on the desktop or in a folder that's on the desktop), but it serves to illustrate how Find works:

Find begins looking at the currently selected folder (directory). To make the current folder switch to the root level of your hard drive (so that the search will examine your entire disk), press Control-Esc and then tap "F" twice.

Control-Esc, as will undoubtedly notice, pops up the Start Menu. Tapping F-F calls the Find command, and then chooses the Find Files or Folders choice from the available find options. As you may have noticed, the "F" is underlined on the Find Command, as are various letters on virtually all other menu and dialog boxes throughout Windows 98; this is an easy way to tell what the shortcut keys for a given command are.

Windows 98 returns a list of all files that matched any part of a name you type into the Find dialog's text box. You can also search inside documents for a specific text string (choose the "Advanced" tab and type the word you want to fin into the "Containing text:" field). Naturally, Find operations take longer when the contents of each file must be searched.

Caution: if you move executable files or rename the folder a program is in, Windows 98 may be unable to find the program the next time you try to launch it.

In other words, if you create a shortcut to an executable file and place it on the Windows 98 desktop, then rename the original executable, the shortcut will essentially be severed. With Windows 98's often-touted long filenames, we can imagine that many users will go gleefully renaming files and directories, unaware that they are severing shortcut after shortcut in the process. Suddenly, none of their applications work, and a computer expert must be called in to undo the damage. We can imagine that a Windows 98 upgrade without proper training and support could result in a tech-support nightmare for many businesses.

Incidentally, Microsoft's TweakUI utility has been updated for Win98, allowing shortcuts to be created without the words "Shortcut to..." that annoyed so many Windows 95 users. You can also drag icons directly to or from the Start menu or its submenus - nifty!

Extra keys on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard

A growing number of PC keyboards have special keys that enhance the way you can work with Windows 98 shortcuts. Although some people (action game players and experienced web surfers, mostly) don't like the extra keys getting in the way of their favorite keyboard shortcuts, you many find them useful.

The Start button on the on-screen taskbar is physically manifested as a Windows key on these special keyboards that, when pressed, switches to the task manager and pops up the Start menu to facilitate the launching of programs, documents, and so on.

By holding down the Windows key and pressing another key, it can provide a system level shortcut. The shortcuts will be defined in the Help system, in the applications' menus, and so on.

If you press the "Windows key," the Start menu pops up, with a list of available programs. Pressing the "Shortcut key" pops up a list of options that are normally available by pressing the right mouse button. Control-Escape or Tab-Enter will both duplicate the Windows key function via the keyboard. To simulate the Shortcut key from the keyboard, press Shift-F10.

Windows 98, like Internet Explorer and Office 97 (etc.), supports the wheel on the Microsoft IntelliMouse, to enable scrolling of windows and documents. The Intellimouse wheel is especially useful when viewing documents in Explorer. A click of the wheel places the document in smooth scrolling mode. Rotating the wheel or simply dragging the mouse up or down allows easy viewing of web pages, Word files and other documents in this fashion.

Customizing the Start Menu

Right-click the Start Button to display additional commands.

Open - this is the easiest way to customize your start menu by dragging items in or out of this window, which represents the contents of the Start Menu.

Explore - similar, but not identical to the File Manager found in Windows 3.x, the Explorer allows you to view your directory structure hierarchically. Various options allow you to show or hide optional information, and sort the lists in various ways. See also The Explorer.

Section 3

Multi-function windows

Icon in upper-left of any window (in Windows 3.1, this was known as the Control menu): Click this button to open menu commands for moving, resizing, or closing a window. However, using your mouse is a much faster and easier way of doing these things.

Double-clicking this button is the classic Windows 3.x way to close a window, but you can also close a window by single-clicking the "X" icon in the upper right corner.

Title bars: identify a particular window by name and if it is active by color. Windows 98 titles bars look different depending on whether you are in 256 color mode, or higher bit depths. In 256 colors, title bars look like the ones in Win95. However, at 16-bit depths and beyond, Win98 displays title bars with a color fading effect (you can customize the colors with the Display panel). You can Click and drag a title bar to move the window.

New Features
Win98 includes several features culled from Microsoft's Plus pack. An optional setting allows the full window content to be redrawn when a window is moved. Icons can be displayed in high-color or standard mode, and fonts can be anti-aliased.  In Windows 95, all these features were provided by the Plus pack. Additionally, Windows 98 implements the updated Display control panel that first appeared in OSR2 that lets you optionally apply color bit depth and resolution changes without restarting.

Here's how: Right-click on the desktop and select Properties from the pop-up menu. Choose the settings Tab to quickly get to the screen where you can adjust your color palette, screen resolution and font size. Note that you do not have to restart your computer to adjust the resolution, provided that the number of colors doesn't change. If you choose a resolution or color setting that your system doesn't support, Windows 98 will warn you the next time it restarts.

These graphics changes, like numerous other features, were not part of the original Windows 95 release, but were included in the OSR2 version released in late 1996.

Because most of the new functionality in OSR 2 was applicable only to 1996-or newer hardware devices, OSR 2 was not available as a retail product or upgrade. Thus, owners of the original Windows 95a version are good candidates to upgrade to Windows 98, as Win98 includes the many bug-fixes that were available as separate patches for the Win95a release.

Many of these OSR 2 patches and components are available for download from Microsoft's web site and can be added to the original Win95 release. All the following items (or newer versions) appear in Windows 98.

Easter Eggs?
There is a vestigal remnant of an existing Internet Explorer Easter Egg in Windows 98.
Select About Internet Explorer from the Help menu. Now, with the CTRL and Shift keys held down, drag the blue "e" icon all the way to the left, then, all the way to the right, dipping it down so that it passes over the black text below. It should slide aside to reveal a button labeled "unlock." Click it.

(Although the following operation produces only an error message on Windows 98 beta 3, it does work in IE4, and may indeed work properly in the final release of Windows 98)

After completing the above steps, hold CTRL and Shift down again and drag the blue "e" over the now-quaking earth.

Win98, like IE4, also has a set of hidden screens that can be displayed with the URL res://ie4tour.dll/tour.htm

Contents © 1998 Bennett Arts Ltd.

This page is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later.
Last updated May 14, 1998. All materials © 1995 - 1998 Bennett Arts Ltd.