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| Start
Faster |
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Don't
Autostart Anything
Nothing's slower than having to
wait for your computer to launch a bunch of programs each times it
starts up. To stop a program from launching at start-up, just open
C:WindowsStart MenuProgramsStartUp in Windows Explorer and delete that
program's shortcut.
Windows 98's System Information tool
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information) gives you
an even more detailed list of autostarting programs. Just expand the
Software Environment menu and choose Startup Programs. This will show
you any programs that are automatically launched by the Registry. To
keep these programs from autostarting, consult each application's help
file.
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There's
no need to search for the floppy drive every time your PC boots
up.
|
Stop the
Floppy Scan
When Windows 98 boots up, it
wastes time scanning for new floppy drives. You can reclaim these lost
seconds via the System Control Panel applet (Start/Settings/Control
Panel/System, or right-click My Computer and choose Properties). Select
the Performance tab; click the File System button; select the Floppy
Disk tab; and uncheck the option "Search for new floppy disk drives
every time your computer starts." Voilà!
Speed Up
Reboots
If you think Windows 98 takes
too long to boot, you can remove the built-in two-second delay in the
OS's start-up sequence. Here's what you need to do:
| • |
Under the Start
button, select Find/Files or Folders. |
| • |
Enter msdos.sys
in the Named box and C: in the Look In box. Then click
Find Now. |
| • |
When the file appears,
right-click it and select Properties from the pop-up menu. |
| • |
Click to remove the
check marks from the Read-Only and Hidden attributes, then click
OK. |
| • |
Right-click msdos.sys,
select Open With from the pop-up menu, enter Notepad as
the opening program, and then click OK. |
| • |
Under Options, enter BootDelay=0
or BootDelay=1 on its own line. (This represents
respective delays of zero seconds and one second, both of which
are faster than the default). |
| • |
Close Notepad and save
your changes on the way out. |
| • |
Return msdos.sys to
its hidden, read-only state. (Right-click it, select Properties
from the pop-up menu, and check the Read-Only and Hidden check
boxes. Then click OK.) |
| • |
Quit and restart
Windows. |
Warning: Any
time you make changes to your SYS files, it's a good idea to back up
your important files and have your original Windows disk on hand in case
you need to reinstall.
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