DESKTOP, START MENU AND SHORTCUTS
Add objects to
Start Menu [95/98/NT4]
Add shortcuts to
the Quick Launch bar [98]
Cascading
Control Panel on Start Menu
[95]
Change the Recycle
Bin's Name [95]
Change the
speed of pop-out menus [95]
Close
all open windows quickly [95/98/NT4]
Fix a broken Start
Menu [95]
Get rid of shortcut
arrows [95]
Get rid of black
icons [95/98]
Make your own Windows
key [95]
Use .BMP files as Icons [95]
Use .BMP files as Icons [95]: Rename any .BMP file to .ICO, to use it as an icon. Windows 95 resizes it to icon size, and changes it to 16 colors, but otherwise it works just fine. The PLUS! Pack allows these icons to be displayed at the maximum number of colors available.
Fix a broken
Start Menu [95]: This tip applies
to the situation where the Start Menu shows up blank, and cannot be modified. This occurs when modifications to
the Start Menu are made from the command line. To repair the Start Menu, perform the following:
1.If there are still subfolders and links in c:\windows\"Start Menu" that you can access from the Explorer,
copy these to another folder as backup.
2.Restart the computer, and when you see "Starting Windows 95..." press F8 to get to the startup menu.
Choose "Command Prompt Only."
3.At the c:\ prompt, change to the windows directory and "deltree startm~1". Reboot the computer.
4.When Windows 95 reloads, it will find that rather than being invalid, the Start Menu simply isn't there. It will
then create a valid Start Menu.
5.At this point you can go to Start / Settings / Taskbar / Start Menu / Advanced and start copying back in the
shortcuts you backed up in step one, or you can run GRPCONV.EXE to get your basic icons back, and reinstall or
create the other links by hand to get your icons back.
Change
the speed of pop-out menus [95]: The
speed at which menus fly out of selections on the Start Menu can be altered. To do so, make the following changes:
1.From the Start menu, choose Run. Type in 'regedit' and click OK.
2.Open the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder.
3.Open the Control Panel folder.
4.Open the Desktop folder.
5.From the Edit menu, choose New->String Value
6.Call the new item MenuShowDelay.
7.Double-click on the new item and give it a value from 0 to 10, 0 being fastest.
8.Exit the Registry Editor and restart Windows.
Get rid of shortcut arrows [95]: Get the Microsoft PowerToy utility TWEAKUI - one of the items it allows you to change is the arrows on shortcuts. It will also allow you to do various other things with your desktop and icons. This program is available on the Microsoft website. There is a link to it in FixWindows.com's Shareware section.
Cascading
Control Panel on Start Menu [95]: In
the Start Menu folder in your Windows 95 folder, create a new folder and name it, exactly: Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
(All on one line, must include the ".", the curly braces, all four hyphens, and the hex numbers exactly
as shown.) After doing this, you'll get a folder in your Start Menu that's called Control Panel with a cascading
menu that has all of the Control Panel contents in it. By placing a '.' after the folder name and putting the sequence
of numbers in brackets, it associates that folder with a registry entry. You can run the regedit program and do
a search for the file you want to get the number sequence if you want to create other such cascading menus. For
example, you can name one Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} to add your Printers to the start menu.
Another one is Dial-Up Networking - use DUN.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48).
Add objects to Start Menu [95/98/NT4]: Click and drag any object from the desktop and drop it on the Start button to add it to the Start Menu.
Add shortcuts to the Quick Launch bar [98]: Want quick access to a document, Web page, or program? You could create a shortcut on the desktop or add it to your Favorites list, but you would still have to click several times to get to what you want. Use Win98's Quick Launch bar to access frequently used programs with a single click. To add a button to the quick launch bar: Drag a program, document, Web page link, or even a shortcut to the Quick Launch bar on the taskbar. If you don't see the Quick Launch bar on your taskbar, right-click the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and click Quick Launch. To remove a button from the Quick Launch bar: Right-click the button you want to remove, and then click Delete.
Make your own Windows key [95]: Wish you had a Windows key on your keyboard like your friends with Microsoft Natural Keyboards? Click here to download the Windows 95 Keyboard Remap Power Toy. Download the file to your location of choice, then double-click Keyremap.exe to extract its contents. Right-click the resulting Keyremap.inf file and select install. To use this utility, open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and select the new Remap tab. Select the key you want to transform--such as Right Alt--in the left-hand box. In the right-hand box , select Windows. Click OK, and you now have a Windows key.
Get Rid of Black Icons [95/98] : Icons can appear black when the icon cache gets corrupted. To fix the problem, make sure that you can see all files (including hidden and system files) in Windows Explorer. Then, go to the Windows directory and find a file called ShellIconCache (no extension). Delete this file and reboot. Your icons will be redrawn!
Close all open windows quickly [95/98/NT4]: If you've opened several windows under My Computer or Network Neighborhood, quickly close them all at once by holding the <Shift> key while clicking the close window box (small x in upper right corner of window).