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All
About Windows
Millennium Edition!
System Restore: is designed to preserve
information about the state of your system at a given
moment in time, so that you can restore it to that state
if your system becomes damaged. In fact, it automatically
creates a whole series of archived restore points so that
you can return to an earlier configuration that was known
to work. This is different than Backup/Restore, in that
only the system files are archived; your work, e-mail,
and so on will not be lost, even if you use a restore
point that is two weeks old.
You have an added level of security that
if something happens to your registry - or some dll goes
missing, or some piece of new hardware keeps your old
hardware from working, or you were just playing around
and now nothing works right - you can get everything back
to the way it was without losing that important, urgent
e-mail that arrived last night. Not only that, but System
Restore is very fast and easy to use. It even runs in
Safe mode, when you need it the most. System Restore requires
a minimum of 200MB of free hard disk space beyond that
used for Windows Me. If you do not have this amount of
space free, System Restore will be disabled (you can enable
it later). System Restore saves its archive files in the
root directory of the drive or partition where your \Windows
folder is stored (usually C:\), and this is not something
that you can change.
It's worthwhile to have a healthy amount
of space in this partition if you can, since 200MB will
only let you save two to three days' worth of restore
points at best. System Restore creates a new restore point
every 10 hours of time that your computer is running,
and at least every day. Restore points are also created
automatically as part of the process of installing software
with the Windows Install Shield. Auto Update creates a
restore point before installing an update. You can also
make restore points manually, before you make registry
changes or install new hardware or software. You control
System Restore by running the System Restore Wizard; it
will never restore without your permission. Tip: Although
it can be helpful to go back to a restore point that was
made just before an application was installed, System
Restore is not the same as uninstalling. Restoring your
system may leave behind "harmless" vestiges (folders,
shortcuts, and graphics files) of applications that are
removed. The best way to uninstall an application is to
use the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel.
That way, you are more likely to remove all or most of
the files associated with that application, without changing
the rest of your system. See "Add/Remove Programs" in
Chapter 15 of this book.
Tip: System Restore is not a substitute
for regular backups. It ignores files with extensions
(such as txt, doc, bmp, pdf, zip, and so on) that are
commonly used for data. It ignores graphics files even
if they are associated with applications. It also ignores
the contents of My Documents, your e-mail data store,
your Favorites and History, and file types that are not
included in the File Types list (to see this list, open
the Explorer, click View->Folder Options, and go to the
File Types tab). You must still back up your data files
in the usual way.
Tip: If you download software applications
in self-extracting files with the extension exe, it is
a good idea to back them up on a removable disk. Any exe
files that you have added to your hard disk since the
last restore point will be removed as part of a restoration,
no matter what partition they reside on.
Using the System Restore Wizard To
create a restore point, run the System Restore Wizard.
Click Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->System
Restore (or click Start->Help, and under Fix a Problem
click Use System Restore), and mark the "Create A restore
point" option, then click Next. Give your new restore
point a name that will help you to recognize it later
(the date and time will be added automatically). Click
Next. It may take a minute or two for information to be
gathered into the restore point. When the process is complete,
a screen will confirm the name and date of the new restore
point. Click OK. To restore your system to a previous
state, launch the System Restore Wizard and mark the "Restore
My Computer to an earlier time" option, then click Next.
A calendar will appear.
Use the calendar in the System Restore
Wizard to choose the most recent restore point when
your computer was working correctly. The bold dates in
the calendar are those for which there is a restore point.
Click the most recent date when you remember your computer
working properly; the restore points made on that day
are displayed on the right. Select the point you want
and then click Next. Save and close any open files and
click OK in the warning box, then click Next to actually
perform the restoration. Your computer will automatically
restart, and you will see a window indicating that the
restoration was a success. If any folders were renamed
or re-created during the restoration, you will see a "List
of renamed folders" link in this window; click it to see
this list. You can also use the System Restore Wizard
to undo a system restoration. If you have performed a
restoration, when you launch the wizard you will see an
option to "Undo my last restoration." Mark this option
and click Next. A warning appears to let you close all
applications and files; close everything, click OK, and
then click Next to undo the restoration and restart your
computer.
Your Restore Data Store The data
in each restore point is compressed together in a cab
archive file, and saved in C:\_RESTORE\ARCHIVE. If you
can't see this folder, open the Explorer, choose Tools->Folder
Options, click the View tab, mark "Show hidden files and
folders," unmark "Hide protected operating system files,"
and then click OK. Windows Me creates a \_RESTORE folder
in every drive and partition (C:\, D:\, and so on) that
it can read and write to, and that is not removable. The
_RESTORE folder on your C: drive contains the primary
System Restore information. Folders on other drives and
partitions contain one file, simply the identity of that
drive. That way System Restore can keep track of any changes
in the way your drives and partitions are named, and restore
them if necessary.
Tip: If you delete the contents of
the _RESTORE folder on a drive where Windows Me is not
installed, System Restore thinks the drive has been removed
and is no longer available for files to be restored to
it. It then purges the contents of the primary _RESTORE
folder, and you will lose all of your restore points.
System Restore works on the principle of first in first
out (FIFO). As you build up information and fill up the
space allocated on your disk for the Restore Data store,
Windows removes earlier files to make room for the new
ones, always starting with the oldest file. The smaller
the amount of disk space you have set aside, the fewer
the number of restore points you will be able to save,
and the shorter the distance in time you can reach back
to for a working system. Ideally, you'd like to be able
to go back a week or two. To set the amount of hard disk
space that is available for the C:\_RESTORE folder, right-click
My Computer, select Properties, and go to the Performance
Tab. Click the File System button, and adjust the System
Restore disk space use slider bar in the File System Properties
dialog box. For drives or partitions smaller than 4GB,
the maximum is set to 400MB - it is 12.5 percent of the
total for larger drives and partitions. If your drive
or partition has less than 400MB available, System Restore
will recognize that; it will automatically lower the setting
on the slider and notify you that you have insufficient
disk space. Once you have plenty of disk space to work
with, you will be able to set the slider to the level
you choose up to the maximum.
Use the "System Restore disk space
use" slider bar to adjust the amount of memory allocated
for the C:\_RESTORE folder. As the contents of the _RESTORE
folder reach 75 percent of the allocated space, or if
your hard disk gets full, System Restore stops gathering
data. It begins removing files, starting with the oldest,
until you are back under 50 percent of your maximum. If
this happens you'll have fewer restore points, because
you'll have fewer archives to go back to. You may notice
this happening if you install software that makes lots
of changes to your system. While you work, Windows Me
saves files in the _Restore\Temp folder. Windows Me uses
these temporary files as it gathers information about
your system; the files change as you work, and the size
of the folder grows. When it's time to make a restore
point, Windows Me sorts through the files in this folder,
compresses the relevant information in a cab file for
archiving, and purges the rest. It's normal for the _Restore\Temp
folder to be quite large at times, and empty or nearly
so at other times. Tip: It's a bad idea to manually delete
the files in your _Restore\Temp folder, because the information
Windows Me needs about how and when to make the next cab
file will be lost. If you have deleted these files by
mistake, you should disable System Restore using the following
steps. After you have rebooted your system, then you can
reenable System Restore. System Restore will start fresh
at this point, and earlier restore points will be lost.
Thanks to Lewis Umbenhower, Jr. at Microsoft for this
advice.
Disable System Restore I don't recommend
that you disable it, But this is how you can.You can delete
your _RESTORE directory, but as long as System Restore
is enabled, a new empty one will be created the next time
you start your computer. If you really want to disable
System Restore, follow the steps below, marking the "Disable
system restore" checkbox. If your System Restore disk
space use slider bar is grayed out, System Restore has
been disabled. To enable it, follow the steps, but uncheck
the "Disable system restore" box in Step 3. STEPS Disable/Enable
System Restore
Step 1. Click Start->Settings->Control Panel
and click the System icon to open the System Properties
dialog box.
Step 2. Go to Performance->File System->Troubleshooting.
Step 3. Mark the "Disable system restore"
checkbox (or to enable System Restore, unmark this box),
then click Apply.
Step 4. You must restart your computer for
this to take effect. After you restart your computer,
Windows Me deletes the contents of your _RESTORE directory.
You may notice some activity on your hard disk as this
occurs.
NO DOS!
No More Real-Mode DOS With the advent
of Windows Me, we humans no longer have access to real-mode
DOS. This is not the same as saying there is no more DOS,
as we shall see. In fact real mode still exists, in the
sense that there are still an io.sys and an msdos.sys.
You will even see autoexec.bat and config.sys in your
root folder; however, you won't be able to use them in
the way that you may have up to now. While DOS is still
there, it is mostly hidden - and parts of it are inaccessible.
We are on the path toward the still-in-development consumer
version of Windows 2000, which has no real mode. When
you start your computer, the processor still runs io.sys
and msdos.sys, the two DOS hidden files. You still see
the power-on self test sequence, and (if you haven't disabled
it) the Startup menu. However, you'll notice that the
Startup menu offers you fewer choices; you can no longer
use it to select "Command prompt only or safe mode command
prompt only."
Startup Another major difference
is that you can no longer edit the config.sys or autoexec.bat
file to affect your computer's startup sequence. These
files still exist in the interest of backward compatibility
with software that won't run without them - but their
contents are now entirely controlled by the System Configuration
utility. If you change or delete these files, Windows
Me re-creates them from information in the registry. See
"Customizing your Windows Startup" for more specifics
about the startup process. If you select item 4 from the
startup menu to run interactive startup, you'll see that
the sequence is somewhat different from the one we describe
in. For example, the following line is missing: Process
your startup device drivers (CONFIG.SYS) [Enter=Y, Esc=N]?
Instead, you will see this: Loading and initializing IFSHLP.SYS
driver... complete Even in the interactive startup process,
you are not given a yes/no choice about this. Decisions
about file allocation and memory management are now handled
automatically or through the registry.
Other missing lines include: Process your
startup command file (AUTOEXEC.BAT) [Enter=Y, Esc=N]?
and Load the Windows graphical user interface [Enter=Y,
Esc=N]? Autoexec.bat is only there in case some DOS application
looks for it, and its contents are no longer read as part
of the startup process. You also have no choice about
whether to load the Windows interface, since there is
no longer an alternative. If you have occasion to shut
down your computer without going through the normal shutdown
sequence, you'll also notice that ScanDisk no longer runs
during the DOS portion of startup, but now runs in Windows.
We have some concerns about the potential for Windows
to overwrite corrupted data that might have been recoverable
before Windows opened. On the other hand, DOS ScanDisk's
propensity to rename files and folders that use long filenames
has made life miserable for many.
The DOS Box The MS-DOS prompt icon
is still there in your Start menu (Start->Programs->Accessories->MS-DOS
prompt). In fact, the DOS console in Windows has changed
very little. This DOS emulation is now your only access
to the DOS commands; but Microsoft has not made any real
changes to the user interface. It's worth noting that
the command files (in \Windows\COMMAND) have all been
updated - or at least redated. One nice change is that
DOSKEY is now already enabled, so you no longer have to
load it separately. See "The Remaining DOS Commands,"
"Modifying DOS Commands," and "Use DOSKEY When You Open
a DOS Window" in Chapter 20 for more on DOSKEY.
Running DOS Programs DOS applications
that run in virtual mode should still work fine in Windows
Me. However, applications that require real mode (that
is, they are designed to install as a DOS application
before Windows starts) will no longer run. Your DOS programs
may work better if you set the MS-DOS properties to ignore
Windows. Do this by opening the DOS console and then clicking
the Properties button in the toolbar (it looks like a
hand holding a piece of paper). On the Program tab, mark
"Prevent MS-DOS-based programs from detecting Windows"
and click OK.
In the Program tab of the MS-DOS Prompt
Properties dialog box, mark "Prevent MS-DOS-based programs
from detecting Windows." It may also help to make the
above changes to the Properties for the pif file associated
with your application.
Setting Environmental Variables Some DOS
programs require you to set specific environmental variables
in order for your video adapter or sound card to work.
Instead of editing autoexec.bat or config.sys, you now
set these variables using the System Configuration Utility.
To open it, click Start->Programs->Accessories->System
Tools->System Information->Tools->System Configuration
Utility - or just click Start->Run, type msconfig, and
click OK. This dialog box has a new Environment tab for
setting environmental variables. For example, if your
old DOS program requires a statement such as FILES=x or
Country=x, or if you want to modify PATH, you can do that
on the Environment tab.
Use the Environment tab of the System Configuration
Utility to change or add environmental variables.
Emergency Recovery/Bootable Floppies
The old DOS format /s command, which lets you copy basic
system files to a disk you are formatting, does not work
on floppy disks in Windows Me. In fact, the DOS sys command
has been changed and no longer works on any drive except
C:. Normally, you would only use sys c: for installing
Windows on a new hard disk. To make a bootable floppy
disk without using format /s, start by creating an "Emergency
boot disk," either during setup or by using the Startup
Disk tab of the Add/Remove Programs dialog box in the
Control Panel. Once you have created this disk, you can
make a pared down boot disk by deleting everything except
io.sys and command.com.
There should then be plenty of room to add
whatever else you need to this disk - for example, a BIOS
update or a hardware installation routine that requires
DOS to run. You can't make a bootable disk just by copying
io.sys and command.com onto it; they must be installed
using the sys command (now buried in the Emergency Boot
Disk utility). Unfortunately, this utility does not support
media larger than 1.44MB. So you cannot use your Zip or
LS120 drive to make a bootable disk or an Emergency Boot
Disk (a lost opportunity, in our opinion). When you start
your computer with this disk in the A: drive, you boot
up in real-mode DOS. However, you can only run real-mode
DOS from this floppy; if you try to change directories
to another drive, you will be firmly redirected to A:.
Tip: Rescue disks created by third-party software companies
for use with Windows 98 may not work with Windows Me.
If you use these products, make sure your disk was made
with an updated version designed explicitly for use with
Windows Me. Otherwise, it may not be there for you when
you need it most.
Dual Booting People who use more
than one operating system on the same computer are put
into a somewhat awkward situation by the loss of real-mode
access. They have depended on using real-mode DOS to partition
their disks and manage their operating systems. If you
are dual booting between Windows Me and an earlier version
of Windows, you can use the real-mode access in the earlier
software to continue working the way you have in the past.
If you are already running Windows NT or 2000, the setup
routine for Windows Me Setup adds itself to the Windows
NT or 2000 boot menu. You can then use this menu to multiboot
between Windows Me and Windows NT or 2000. See the file
setup.txt on the Windows Me CD-ROM for a detailed description
of how to set up your computer to dual boot between Windows
NT and Windows Me. See Windows
dual boot page.
Tip: Many people use third-party software
such as Partition Magic to partition their hard disks
and manage the multiboot environment. Until recently,
these products have required real mode DOS to run; there
is, however, a new version of Partition Magic that supports
Windows 2000. Powerquest, the makers of Partition Magic,
are expected to produce a version that supports Windows
Me; check their Web site at http://www.powerquest.com.
Until then, only the Partition Magic functions that are
accessible from within the Windows environment (without
rebooting into DOS) are available in Windows Me. You can
always run either the Windows 98 version or the Windows
2000 version, if you are running either of those operating
systems.
Tip: BeOS requires that you be in real mode
in order to boot. You can reportedly boot BeOS from an
Emergency Boot Disk, switch to the Be folder, and then
use the Be loader (loadbeos.exe). But you are probably
better off using Be's own boot floppy.
Print Web Pages
See how web page will look when before
you print it out? How many pages will it take? Will it
fit on the paper? Do you need to print that last page
with all the ads? Finally there's a Print Preview feature
in Internet Explorer 5.5. Click Files->Print Preview to
open the Preview window. Better yet, add a Print Preview
button to your toolbar. Right-click the toolbar and click
Customize; you'll see Print Preview in the list on the
left. When the Print Preview window opens, you see the
first page of your document as it will print on paper,
in a full-screen view. The toolbar makes it easy to zoom
in and out, and to move to a different page. At smaller
zoom levels, you see multiple pages.
Zoom to 25 percent in Print Preview to see
several pages at once. Maybe we don't need to print all
three pages of this document after all. An especially
nice feature of this Print Preview implementation is the
Page Setup button, located on the toolbar next to the
Print button. Page Setup lets you adjust margins, change
page orientation, and modify or remove page headers before
you print. Unlike the Print button on the Internet Explorer
toolbar, the Print button in Print Preview first opens
the Printer dialog box so you can set the number of copies
and number of pages before you print. Click Close to close
the Preview window and return to browsing in Internet
Explorer.
Tip: If a graphic on the Web page is too
big to fit on your paper (because it would be cut off
in the middle), it will be moved to the next page. You'll
see an empty space on the first page where the graphic
would have appeared. You may be able to get the graphic
to fit if you use Page Setup to make the top and bottom
margins smaller.
Tip: When shopping on the Internet, you
often see a generated order confirmation page with instructions
to print the page. Generated pages like these won't save
properly, even as mht files. Use Print Preview to make
sure the page will print correctly, and then choose to
print to a file or to Acrobat PDF Writer. That way, you
don't waste a piece of paper, but you'll still have the
information you need if there's a problem with your order.
Personalized Start Menu!
The Personalized Start menu. Click the
double arrows to see the whole menu. Menu items that appear
"raised" appear on the short version. This feature is
supposed to simplify the workspace and make it easier
to find what you're looking for, but some people don't
like having their menus changed without their permission.
If you're among them, it's easy enough to turn Personalized
Menus off. Click Start->Settings->Taskbar and Start Menu.
On the General tab, unmark "Use personalized menus" and
click OK. Now everything is back where it used to be.
Better Help!
Windows Me comes with a completely revamped
HTML-based help system called Help and Support. To launch
it, click Start->Help. Right away you'll notice the new
look, shown in Figure 4-7. While the HTML takes a few
seconds longer to load, it's well worth using the tools
that are there. The articles are more detailed, the organization
is more intuitive, there are plenty of troubleshooters,
and there are links to very helpful online tools as well.
The new look of Help and Support. The beauty is more than
skin deep. The Search field is right at the top of the
window, so you can type in a keyword and search without
any extra mouse clicks.
A hierarchical navigation bar horizontally
runs just below it, while the links in the left pane take
you to specific topics. The Home page of Help and Support
lists a number of potential starting places, and includes
links to System Restore, Assisted Support, and Online
Support. On the right you'll see a list of your recently
viewed help topics - a nice touch that makes it easy to
get back to what you were working on yesterday, or before
you had to reboot. Subsequent pages show links to related
topics in the left pane, with the article contents on
the right. The Change Views button lets you toggle between
large and small views of Help. Click it to make the Help
window smaller, showing you only the article you're reading,
without the navigation links in the left pane. To get
the links back, click Change Views again.
There's also a Print button that lets you
quickly print out the article you're reading - properly
formatted - so you can refer to it while you work. You
can see by the icon at the beginning of a topic whether
it is a Help article, a tour, or a resource located on
the Internet. Links with a yellow question mark go to
articles on your own computer; links with a little blue
Internet Explorer logo lead to resources located online.
Some articles from the Microsoft Knowledge Base now also
appear locally in Help, so you don't need to go online
for them.
Although the new Help and Support Troubleshooters
are mostly located on your computer, they have the online
symbol because they use the Help and Support Web site
to analyze your system and advise you based on the results.
You can still see most of the information in a troubleshooter
without going online: just leave unchecked any box that
says "I want the troubleshooter to investigate settings
on this computer." However, if you can work online, leave
the box checked to save time and see suggestions that
are more relevant to your specific setup. In Safe mode,
if you click Start->Help, you are taken directly to the
Safe Mode Troubleshooter. Presumably that's what you need
if you're there.
Tip: Help and Support is an easy way to
get to your system information and system tools. Open
Help and Support, click Assisted Support, and click the
System Information link. Your system information appears.
Click Tools to see a drop-down list of system information
tools.
You can only open one session of Help and
Support, so if you try to check your system information
once you are on the Assisted Support Web site, you will
lose whatever you have written there. Assisted Support
should upload this information automatically, but if you
have a problem (or prefer to do it manually), it pays
to be prepared in advance. Some antivirus software such
as Norton Auto-Protect can slow down Help and Support,
depending on how it is set up. If the antivirus application
is set to check a file every time the file is run or opened,
it will slow down a process like Help and Support that
reads a lot of files. If a full system scan shows that
you have no viruses, you can change your antivirus software
to check files only when they are created or downloaded.
That way, you'll still be protected, but you won't be
checking files needlessly.
Click Assisted Support and you see links
to MSN Computing Central forums and message boards, as
well as a link to Microsoft's Online Support. We often
find that asking other people who use the same product
can result in a more informative answer than one from
corporate staff - depending on your question, you may
want to try the MSN links first. The Online Support link
gives you ways to search for online Knowledge Base articles,
to ask questions in natural language and receive automated
answers, and to submit a question by e-mail to a support
professional at Microsoft using Web Response. Microsoft's
Online Support is continually changing and improving,
so we won't go into too many specifics here.
But we have been greatly impressed by the
Web Response support available for some of Microsoft's
consumer products. While you fill out an incident report,
information about your system is automatically added to
the report. This happens on your computer (not Microsoft's),
and you can edit the information before submitting your
incident. You can also easily attach files such as logs
or images that may help in troubleshooting. Within one
workday after you submit an incident, you should receive
e-mail with a link to the Web location of the response.
You reply by creating a supplement, and
the back and forth continues until your incident is resolved.
In our experience the support staff is knowledgeable,
personable, and easy to understand without being condescending
- something of a rarity these days. You are required to
have a Passport or a Hotmail account in order to use Web
Response. This is a process by which you get a user name
and password in exchange for information about who you
are and how you can be contacted. Once you have a password,
you use it every time you contact Microsoft instead of
filling out the same form over and over.
Some People who are concerned about their
privacy may balk at having their entire support history
linked with their personal profile. But for most of us,
the advantages in faster, more accurate technical support
outweigh the disadvantages.
The Dills!
The Windows Me System File Protection feature
replaces the System File Checker that came with Windows
98 and takes it a step further. If certain protected system
files (such as dll files) are deleted or overwritten,
System File Protection automatically replaces the protected
file with a clean copy extracted from the system cab files
on your hard disk. This means that installing an unruly
hardware driver cannot destroy files that are essential
for other parts of your system to work properly. You won't
be put into a situation where a damaged system file prevents
you from opening Windows, even in Safe mode.
You won't have to decide which of two conflicting
files is the correct one. And you don't have to remember
to run System File Protection; it happens automatically.
Microsoft developed the list of protected files based
on the experience of its technical support staff - and
the staffs of its vendors - helping customers whose systems
had been hosed by software that overwrote critical files.
To see a list of the files that are protected by System
File Protection, use the Explorer to navigate to \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\sfp
and open sfpdb.sfp with Notepad. Notice that the protection
is for files, not folders; not all of the contents of
the \Windows folder are protected, for example. In the
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\sfp folder, open sfplog.txt to see the
actions System File Protection has taken on your behalf.
You can see which invalid files were copied
onto your system, and where the original file was restored.
In most cases, this happens almost instantly. In some
cases, you will see that System File Protection has installed
new files. Only software that contains a digitally signed
and encrypted catalog file, indicating that the newer
file meets certain standards, will be allowed to replace
system files. At that time, System File Protection backs
up the older version in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\sfp\archive and
allows the newer version into the system. Microsoft has
worked with developers and manufacturers to ensure that
most software will contain the required Catalog file.
It seems unlikely, however, that everyone will comply
by the time Windows Me is released. And there will be
plenty of older hardware out there, with older drivers
to match.
If your driver does not meet the new standards,
it will probably not install, and you won't be able to
use that hardware (this shouldn't be a problem for hardware
you already have installed before upgrading to Windows
Me). In addition to hardware drivers, games will undoubtedly
pose problems in this regard. You will have to contact
the manufacturer in question and get an updated driver
or a new version of the software before you can use it.
Tip: Even though they don't seem like system files, TWAIN
files are protected by System File Protection. This is
because several devices may use the same TWAIN driver,
which controls communication between the applications
and drivers.
The TWAIN driver that comes with Windows
Me is version 1.7. If your TWAIN scanner or other device
requires an earlier version of TWAIN, it will not operate;
you must get a new driver for that device that works with
the later version of TWAIN. You cannot configure or disable
System File Protection. Microsoft felt this would put
people right back in DLL Hell, creating the same support
problems they were trying to get away from. It's possible
that you may be able to install a noncompliant driver
in Safe mode - but you risk making other parts of your
system, if not the whole thing, unusable. As frustrating
as it might be in the short run, in the long run, System
File Protection will save consumers considerable grief.
My Pictures!
Windows Me gives you a new, specialized
folder called My Pictures, just for storing your images.
It's located in the My Documents folder for easy backup.
My Pictures is set up by default to display its contents
and the contents of its subfolders in Image Preview. If
you are viewing your folders in Web view, Image Preview
shows you a thumbnail of the contents of the folder with
a full-resolution preview of the selected image file.
The preview display is very fast; you only have to hover
over an image to see the preview, along with details about
the image such as its format and pixel size. Click the
buttons at the top of the Preview window to zoom, rotate,
or print your image without opening another application,
or to see it in a full-screen view.
The contents of the My Pictures folder
are displayed in Image Preview. Use the buttons above
the preview to zoom, rotate, or print your image. To view
the contents of your folder as a full-screen slide show,
click "View pictures as slideshow" in the left part of
the window. Use the controls in the upper right-hand corner
to control or exit the slide show. We couldn't find any
way to adjust the timing of the slides - they are set
to change every ten seconds.
To launch the Scanner and Camera Wizard,
click "Get pictures from a scanner or camera" (see "Taking
Pictures" later in this chapter for more about this wizard).
If you don't see the preview or the links mentioned in
the paragraph above, click Tools->Folder Options, and
mark "Enable Web content in folders under Web view," then
click OK. Unfortunately, this will affect the way you
view all of your folders. If you don't want to enable
Web content in your folders, you can still see thumbnails
in My Pictures by choosing View->Thumbnails. You won't
have the preview capabilities or the access to the Scanner
and Camera Wizard, though. Kind of a tough decision, we
think.
Tip: To turn off Image Preview in the My
Pictures folder, click Tools->Folder Options, and under
Web View mark "Use Windows classic folders"; then click
OK (this will affect all of your folders). Now navigate
to My Pictures, click View, and select any choice except
Thumbnails.
Tip: If you delete a file from My Photos,
the thumbnails won't line up automatically. Right-click
in the window, and you'll see commands to Arrange Icons,
Line Up Icons, and Refresh. Arrange Icons lets you sort
by Name, Type, Size, or Date, or Auto Arrange.
My Pictures appears in your Start menu under
Documents. To view the contents of My Pictures as a cascading
menu instead of a window, click Start->Settings->Taskbar
and Start Menu, and go to the Advanced tab. Under Start
Menu Settings, mark "Expand my pictures" and click OK.
You can delete the My Pictures folder permanently just
as you would any other folder. If you decide later that
you'd like to get Image Preview back - or if you'd like
to use Image Preview in other folders - you can apply
those properties to any folder you choose. Follow the
steps below: STEPS Turn On Image Preview in Any Folder
Step 1. In the Explorer, navigate to the folder you want.
Click Tools->Folder Options, make sure that "Enable Web
content in folders" is marked, and then click OK. Step
2. From the folder, select View->"Customize this folder."
The "Customize this Folder" Wizard launches. Step 3. Click
Next. Select "Choose or edit an HTML template for this
folder." Click Next. Step 4. Select Image Preview. Click
Next. Click Finish.
Image Acquisition!
Image Acquisition: Windows Image
Acquisition (WIA) is both an application programming interface
(API) and a device driver interface (DDI) used by Windows
Me for devices like scanners and cameras that capture
still images. Its purpose is to let you easily add and
run multiple cameras and scanners, and to acquire images
using fewer steps. WIA is also intended to give hardware
developers an easier way to write drivers that will work
better in the Windows environment. WIA is based on the
Microsoft Still Image (STI) architecture that was introduced
with Windows 98. While the original purpose of that architecture
was to support the TWAIN data standard, Microsoft sees
WIA as an improvement over (and ultimately a replacement
for) TWAIN. Instead of the familiar TWAIN Acquire dialog
box launched by imaging applications such as PhotoShop
and Paint Shop Pro, when scanning with a WIA scanner you
will now launch the Scanners and Cameras Wizard. When
Microsoft refers to "supported" scanners and cameras,
it means those for which there is a WIA driver included
in Windows Me. Almost without exception, these devices
use either SCSI or USB interfaces (some streaming video
devices have a kind of WIA wraparound). For these supported
devices, Plug and Play should work transparently in Windows
Me. If you are using an "unsupported" scanner or camera,
you can still save the image as a file on your hard disk,
then open it with editing software - probably the way
you do it now. You just won't be able to make photos or
scans directly from the Start menu or the My Pictures
folder, and you won't be able to link your device to an
application.
Installing Scanners and Cameras:
Microsoft has elevated scanners and cameras to a new status
by giving them their own Control Panel folder in Windows
Me. Previously, the icon for this folder only appeared
if you had actually installed a camera or a scanner on
your system; now it contains a convenient wizard that
helps with the installation process. Like other Control
Panel folders, Scanners and Cameras displays the devices
you have installed so that you can view and change their
properties if needed. However, according to Microsoft's
WIA team, this folder "will only list still image devices
with certain types of drivers, based on either the STI
or WIA standards." To access the properties for other
cameras and scanners, click Start->Settings->Control Panel.
Double-click System, go to the Device Manager tab, and
scroll down to Imaging Devices. Right-click the device
and click Properties. See "Control Panel Icons" in Chapter
10 to make a shortcut to your Device Manager. Chances
are good that if you are adding a new SCSI or USB device,
you won't need to bother with the wizard because it will
have a WIA driver. Plug and Play detects scanners and
cameras for which drivers are included in Windows Me,
and installs them automatically. Tip: If the SCSI card
to which your scanner connects is not detected, the scanner
won't be detected. This is true even if the scanner is
supported by Windows Me. If you are installing a parallel
scanner, an older scanner, or a non-USB camera for the
first time, you should use the wizard. To launch the Scanner
and Camera Installation Wizard, click Start->Settings->Scanners
and Cameras->Add Device. Click Next to begin. You will
see the list of manufacturers and models shown in Figure
4-9. If your manufacturer is listed, select it and the
model and click Next. Click the Have Disk button and follow
the directions. Figure 4-9: The Scanner and Camera Installation
Wizard. Select the manufacturer and model of your camera
from the list, or click the Have Disk button.
Only USB or Firewire cameras appear on this
list (and no scanners); for other devices, you'll need
to have a driver (or download one from the manufacturer's
Web site), then click the Have Disk button and follow
the directions. If a driver for your specific model is
not listed, try the generic driver for that manufacturer
- for example, Olympus Digital Camera or Epson Digital
Camera. In the next screen, select a port to use and click
Next. Give your device a name that will appear in the
Scanners and Cameras folder, click Next, and then click
Finish. If you have been using a SCSI or USB scanner,
your driver will most likely be replaced by a WIA driver
when you update to Windows Me. You will see a new WIA
dialog box when you use the device to acquire an image.
Some manufacturers offer more functionality in their own
drivers than in the WIA drivers they provided to Microsoft.
Check your manufacturer's Web site for a newer WIA driver,
follow the instructions on the Web site to download it,
then run the Scanner and Camera Installation Wizard using
the Have Disk button to install the manufacturer's driver.
If you install a non-WIA driver for a Windows Me-supported
device, it may not work very well - and Plug and Play
will probably reinstall the WIA driver next time you start
your computer.
Link an Application: to a Scanner
or Digital Camera If your scanner or camera supports the
WIA standard, you can link it to an application on your
computer. This is similar to what happens when you click
a data file in the Explorer - you click the file, the
linked application begins automatically, and your file
opens. Now you can launch an application with your new
image displayed by pressing a button on your camera or
scanner. Not all applications will work this way, but
newer versions of the most popular imaging applications
should support WIA functionality. STEPS Link Your Camera
or Scanner to an Application
Step 1. Click Start->Settings->Control Panel.
If necessary, click "View all control panel options" in
the left portion of the pane, then double-click Cameras
and Scanners.
Step 2. Right-click the scanner or camera
you want to use and select Properties. Click the Events
tab. (If this tab does not appear, this device does not
support linking to an application.)
Step 3. In the Scanner Or Camera Events
list, click the event that will open the program - for
example, pressing the Scan button on your scanner.
Step 4. In the Run an Application list,
click the program that you want to start when this event
occurs. Click OK.
Taking Pictures: After a scanner
or camera is installed on your system, you can use the
Scanner and Camera Wizard to take photos or make scans.
Click Start->Programs->Accessories->Scanner and Camera
Wizard to launch the Wizard (it won't appear in your Start
menu unless you have one of these devices installed) -
or navigate to the My Pictures folder and click "Get pictures
from a scanner or camera." Select a device from the list
and follow the wizard's instructions to crop your picture
and change its brightness, then save the new image on
your computer.
Windows Media!
Player Media player is a pretty generic
term - any media played by just one software device. Well,
at least you know where to go. The problem with this approach
is that you get a generic interface that perhaps isn't
the best for the particular media type that you are playing.
Look around your home and notice the difference between
your CD player and your TV. Version 7 comes with Windows
Me and is also available for Windows 98. If you have Windows
98, you can download it from the Microsoft Web site at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/Download/default.asp.
The Media Player is also a specialized Web browser that
lets you one-button click to Microsoft's radio and media
guide sites. Microsoft continues to tie its tools to its
Web sites, for obvious reasons. Playing
Audio CDs: When we tested the Media
Player before Windows Me was released, it had great difficulty
identifying any of the CDs that we chose to listen to.
It was quite annoying to see the Media Player window announce
that we were listening to an unknown album by an unknown
artist. The Microsoft Deluxe CD Player, which was distributed
with Windows 98 Plus! in 1998, did a much better job of
identifying CDs using databases available on the Web.
We assume that the Media Player isn't using those databases
because it wants to use Microsoft's partners' databases
and thereby allow Microsoft to collect advertising income.
Since this is a Web content issue, the results you get
may vary over time and are not necessarily contingent
on what version of Media Player you have. You can find
CD databases at a number of sites. Check out http://www.cddb.com/.
We understand that Microsoft uses http://www.allmusic.com.
Perhaps someday it will live up to its name. You can't
install the Microsoft Deluxe CD Player from the Plus!
CD-ROM onto your Windows Me system because the Plus! CD-ROM
thinks that there is an incompatible version of Windows
on your computer and gives you an error message when you
try. However, you can copy the /Program Files/Plus!/DeluxeCD
folder (and contents) from a Windows 98 computer to your
Windows Me computer, and now you have a CD player that
is fun to use and that knows who it is listening to. There
are many other nice little CD players available as freeware
and shareware on the Web.
The Media Player does have some advantages
over the Microsoft Deluxe CD Player when it comes to playing
CDs. The major one is that it can copy (rip) your CDs
to your hard disk. As it copies your CDs to your hard
disk, it also compresses them so they don't take up as
much room. There was no need for compressing the music
on the CD as it has 720MB of room to store all ten or
so songs. If you can compress the music and not lose quality,
then it makes sense to do so when you store it on your
hard disk. You have a choice of how much compression (and
loss of quality) to use when you store your CDs. The Media
Player will also check your CDs for certain kinds of errors
(scratches, etc.) and try to correct them. Since CDs have
a habit of going bad, copying your CDs is one way to help
preserve them. There are, of course, many other products
that will let you copy your CDs to your hard disk.
Microsoft claims that you can listen to
your CDs as you copy them. Didn't work, even when we did
digital copying (the default). Microsoft claims that digital
copying is faster and allows visualizations (think of
these as your computer on drugs) to beat in time with
the music when played off the hard disk. Since visualizations
also work when music is played off your CDs, I didn't
quite get the difference between analog and digital copying.
Copying Music
Copying Music: The Media Player
has a built-in license management system, which will let
you copy music onto your hard disk and then onto portable
music devices that adhere to the music industry standards
for licensing music. You can't copy music to these portable
devices unless you use the Media Player's license management
system. The default is to "Enable personal rights management,"
when copying from a CD to your hard disk (see Tools->Options->CD
Audio). If you clear this checkbox, then you can copy
the tracks from the CD onto your hard disk without worrying
about a license. You can also copy these wma files to
another computer and play them using the Media Player
(or other player) on that computer. You won't be able
to copy the wma files to another computer unless you uncheck
this checkbox. If you uncheck the "Enable personal rights
management" checkbox, you won't be able to copy your copied
CD tracks to a portable device that adheres to the SDMI
standard. It is possible to transfer your music licenses
between computers. Here's now: STEPS Moving Your Music
Licenses to a New Computer
Step 1. In the Tools Menu, choose License
Management.
Step 2. Change backup directory to a shared
folder on the network.
Step 3 Click Backup Now to backup licenses
to the shared folder.
Step 4. On a second computer, using either
Windows Me or Windows 98 Second Edition, download and
install the Windows Media Player 7 Beta.
Step 5. Confirm that you cannot play the
Wma files that you stored on your first computer on the
second computer by trying to play one of the Wma files.
Step 6. In the Tools Menu on the second
computer, choose License Management. Step 7. Change the
backup directory to the same place where you stored the
backup License Management files. Step 8. Click Restore
Now.
Step 9. Confirm you can now play the Wma
files without error.
Listening to Internet: Radio Click
the Radio Tuner button and the Media Player becomes a
front end to the http://windowsmedia.com/radiotuner/ Web
site. You can visit the site using Internet Explorer,
and get the same functionality that you'll find in the
Media Player. Actually, we found somewhat better performance
from this Web site when we contacted it with the Internet
Explorer than when we used the Media Player. Probably
just a coincidence.
The Microsoft Media Guide: Click
the Media Guide button and you are transported to http://windowsmedia.com/mediaguide/,
Microsoft's Media Guide Web site. You can also view this
site in Internet Explorer, although it looks a bit different.
Try http://windowsmedia.com/MediaGuide/default.asp?page=0&WMPFriendly=true
and it will look the same in Internet Explorer as it does
in your Media Player.
Apple's QuickTime Video: If you have
mov files, video files made with Apple's QuickTime video
creator, it is best to play them with the Windows QuickTime
player and not the Microsoft Media Player. The Media Player
will play QuickTime version 2 files, but this format is
now quite old, so recent QuickTime files will not be in
this format. Zach, a Microsoft support technician for
the Media Player states, "The Windows Media Player is
technically incapable of using most of the QuickTime v3
or later codecs. It also cannot play QuickTime VR files.
The acid test is to attempt to play back any QuickTime
file encoded using the Sorenson codec. This will fail
in all versions of Windows Media Player."
Windows Media Creation: If you want
to create Windows media files for your own use or to place
on your Web site, check out the Windows Media Development
Center at http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/c-frame.htm?949453562292#/workshop/imedia/windowsmedia/default.asp.
Also, you can download Windows Media Tools at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/technologies/tools.asp.
You can use the Windows Media Encoder to create very compact
asf files from wav files. These can in turn be played
on the Media Player. The asf file will also be much more
useful for downloading from a Web site.
Compressing CD Audio: You can use
the Microsoft Media Encoder to compress raw CD audio files.
One 4-minute song of 44.1K 16-bit stereo is about 42MB.
The Microsoft Media Encoder will compress this file to
about 1MB or 40:1, and provide almost CD quality. Compressing
mp3 files at about 20:1 produces files that are larger
than the asf files produced by the encoder, and of lesser
quality. You can use this encoder with Sound Forge, or
with Windows Media Tools.
Save That Streaming Media: If you
are listening to streaming audio or watching a streaming
video, you may want to capture that media content and
save it on your hard disk. Often, the authors of the content
don't want you to do this, so that the Media Player won't
let you store the content if it is formatted so as not
to be storable. To try to store a given stream while you
are listening to it, click File->Add to Library->"Add
currently playing track."
Windows~Me Hibernate!
Windows~Me Hibernate will save everything
in RAM to your hard disk, then turns off your disk drive,
monitor, and battery if you have one. It is different
from Standby, which saves power but doesn't save any documents
or settings. It does take longer for your computer to
wake up from hibernation. With Hibernate, everything about
your current work session is saved, without you having
to save and close individual documents - even if the cat
goes for a walk on your keyboard while you're gone. When
you come back, quickly press the Power button to get back
to work. You can set your computer up to hibernate automatically
after being idle for a certain period of time; that way,
you're less likely to lose data if you are suddenly interrupted.
You control the settings for Hibernate by
using the Power Options in the Control Panel (if you can't
see this icon, click "View all control panel options").
If your computer supports Hibernate, you will see a Hibernate
tab in the Power Options dialog box. That's the only problem
with Hibernate - it doesn't work with all hardware. If
you buy a new computer with Windows Me installed, Hibernate
should work fine for you. But you probably won't see a
Hibernate tab at all if you purchase Windows Me separately
and install it as an update. If you have SCSI devices
on your computer, Windows Me detects that and disables
Hibernate.
USB
Windows Me doesn't support the USB 2.0
specification. USB 2.0 has a data transfer rate that is
40 times faster than the USB 1.1 specification that is
currently supported. When Windows Me was released, there
were very few USB 2.0-compliant devices available. Microsoft
beta support personnel have stated that Microsoft will
provide an update to Windows Me after it is released,
which will allow it to support USB 2.0 devices and hubs.
Windows 98 and Me have their own USB drivers (or use the
drivers found on the manufacturer's diskette). If you
are installing Windows Me from DOS, you'll have trouble
with your USB mouse if you don't have support for it in
your computer's BIOS. The USB BIOS support may be turned
off on your computer. To check your computer's BIOS for
USB mouse support, you'll need to go to your computer's
hardware setup screen during power-on self test.
