Windows 98 Tutorial

Microsoft Windows 98: Windows 98 replaced Windows 95 as the new operating system. Most of the functions in the two operating systems resemble each other. However Windows 98 does have added features as follows: Microsoft Windows 98 Features:  Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) provides an average of 28 percent more disk space, thanks to a feature called FAT32 that enables more efficient use of your hard drive. Windows 98 SE loads your most frequently used applications up to 36 percent faster, thanks to Windows 98's new disk defragmenter. Windows 98 also had added support for DVD players which Windows 95 does not.

Windows 98 Start Button:

Windows 95 and the subsequent operating  systems including Window 98 and Windows Me from Microsoft use the Start Button as the starting point for most applications. We'll spend a little time discussing the Start button first. It is located on the left bottom part of your computer screen. Also on the new keyboards, you will see a key that has the Windows logo on it. Go ahead and click on the Start button now. You will see a new pop-up menu similar to the drop-down menu. Depending on your installation, you may see different menu options. We have included a screen shot of the Start button right below.

We will discuss the more common options under the Start menu here. In order to use the Program option, use the left button on the mouse or use the keyboard option. Programs: This option lets the user select what applications to run on the computer system. If you want to work on word processing, you can click on Programs and then select Microsoft Word. If you want to run the internet, you can click Programs and then Internet Explorer. Sometimes it is easier to create a short cut on the Desktop instead of using the Programs button.

Windows 98 - Documents:  Microsoft Windows 98 keeps track of the documents that you have recently worked on. The easiest way to work with these documents is to use the Documents options. When you click on it, a list of documents will appear. You can then select the appropriate document or file you want to work with.

Windows 98 - Settings: This menu option under the start button is used to configure the settings on your computer. You can add and remove software applications using this option. In addition you can change the desktop settings and also the Start Menu options. The most important item under the settings menu is the Control Panel. Using control panel, one is able to change the configuration on the computer.

Windows 98 - Find: This is one of my favorite options under the Start Menu. This one lets you find files and folders on your computer. If you vaguely remember the name of the file you are looking for lets say vacation something, use this option. A new window will pop-up. Go ahead and enter vacation*  * is a wild character that will look for documents starting with vacation and ending with any other characters. Finally click Find Now to do the search. To find a file or folder in Windows 98 1    Click the Start button, and then point to Find. 2    Click Files Or Folders. 3    In the Named box, type all or part of the file's name.       If you do not know the name of a file or want to refine the search, click the Date Modified or Advanced tabs.       If you want to specify where Windows should begin its search, click Browse. 4    Click Find Now. To copy a file or folder  in Windows 98 1    In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to copy. 2    On the Edit menu, click Copy. 3    Open the folder or disk where you want to put the copy. 4    On the Edit menu, click Paste We have included a screen capture of Find functionality right below.

Windows 98 Help: This is a fast way to look up information about the Windows operating system. There are three ways to get the information you need. -One is to use the Contents which lists all the topics in order. -I tend to use the Index options which lists everything alphabetically. -You can also do an exhaustive search by Find option. This creates a search engine within the Microsoft Windows 98 OS.

Windows 98 Run command: This option lets you execute programs directly from the Start Menu. A lot of time this is a fast way to install new software on your machine. Also you can test an exe file by using the Browse option if you can find the right file. Shut Down: This is also one of my favorite options. When things go wrong, it is a good idea to restart your computer. One of options under the Shut Down menu is Restart the Computer.

Windows Explorer in Windows 9

In Windows Explorer, you can see both the hierarchy of folders (aka directories) on your computer and all the files and folders in each selected folder. Go ahead and start Windows Explorer by doing the following Start  Programs  Windows Explorer

You will see the new window is split into two sections. The one on the left is the folder window as it shows only the folders including your hard drive (C) and other system folders like Control Panel, Network Neighborhood etc. The window on the right side is the file window as it contains the files in addition to any other folders. Go ahead and click on Windows folder in the left window. You will notice that a new set of files appear on the right side. These are the contents of Windows folder and show all the file and folders included. Windows Explorer is especially useful for copying and moving files. You can open the folder that contains the file you want to move or copy, and then drag it to the folder you want to put it in. Lets try the following exercise. First we will find a file in the Windows folder and then move it to the Program Files folder. As you have Window selected in the left window, look for the Win.ini file in the right window. Once you find it, move the mouse on it, click the left button. Now comes the hard part. While you have the left mouse button pressed down, move the cursor to the Program Files folder in the left window and then release the mouse button. You just moved Win.ini from Windows folder to the Program Files folder! Congrats. Remember this is just practice, so lets move the file back to the Windows folder. You can either repeat the above steps or just select Undo move from Edit menu. Another useful feature of Windows Explorer is to locate files and folder. Lets say that we were looking for Win.ini file but did not know what folder to look in. We can do the following. From the menu, select Tools, Find and Files and Folders. A new window will appear. Type the following Named     Win.ini Look in     Drive C and select Find Now. The utility searches the hard drive and locates the file in C:\Windows folder. It also gives you other information like the file size, file type and the date it was modified. This is useful if you are working on a big document and have saved multiple copies on the hard drive. You can easily find the latest copy by using the Find utility.

Windows 98 - Control Panel: The control panel is a short cut to the details about your computer system. It lets you add and remove software from your machine. You can view and update the hardware on your system. You can even change the default settings to your customized way. It lets you set up your network and configure the adapters. You can start control panel by doing the following. Settings  Control Panel You will get something that looks like this

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You will see a number of icons in this window. I will discuss a few of the important ones here. Add New Hardware: If you want to add new hardware to the system, use this icon. Add/Remove Programs: If you want to add or remove software programs from your personal computer, this is where you want to be. When you click on this icon, you will see a new dialog box that looks like the one below

Lets say you wanted to remove Microsoft Excel 97. After you select Microsoft Excel, the Add/Remove button will become enable and you would click on it to delete the software. Just follow the instruction and you can delete the appropriate software. Display: If you want to change the settings for your monitor, you have come to the right place. When you click on Display, you will open a new dialog box that looks like the one below. You can change the resolution and modify screen savers under the Display option.

Printers: This is how you add or remove printers from your computer System: This is one of my favorites as it has a sub section called Device Manager. This one lets you browse what kind of hardware is present on your machine in case you want to upgrade a few things. Recycle Bin: Recycle Bin is where all the deleted files on your computer are stored before they are deleted permanently. Lets take a look at contents of the recycle bin