window 98 Tip: Tuning

1. Remove Unneeded Files

No matter how big your hard disk,you'll eventually fill it up. When that happens, the Windows 98 Disk Cleanup tool can help you free up some space. Disk Cleanu p starts automatically under certain conditions--for example, if you copy a file to a hard disk with less than 3% free space, say, 30MB on a 1GB hard disk. However, it's a good idea to use the program regularly, so you don't reach that 3% threshold in the first place.

To start the utility, choose Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Disk Cleanup. The program opens a dialog with two tabs: Disk Cleanup and More Options. The Disk Cleanup tab includes a Files to remove list box; there are four b asic check-box items--Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Program Files, Recycle Bin, and Temporary files--though you may see others (for details, see the next tip). Choose More Options, and you'll see two choices--Windows setup and Installed programs--t h at you also can access through the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs option. These let you remove unneeded Windows components or application programs. If your disk doesn't use the FAT32 file system, you'll also see an option for converting it to FAT32, which we'll discuss later.

2. Clear out The Claster

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you find and delete unnecessary files. If you have any doubts about deleting a category, such as Temporary Internet Files,choose the View Files button to see a description of t he files marked for deletion. You can manually select only those you want to delete.

3. Know What're deleting

Before you delete files with DiskCleanup, make sure you know what you're deleting. The first two items you'll find in the Files to remo ve list are Temporary Internet Files and Downloaded Program Files, both of which refer to directories that Internet Explorer 4 uses for files it downloads to your hard disk. If you delete these files, you'll just end up downloading them again the next tim e you visit the Web pages; if the pages are on your hard disk, however, they'll load more quickly. If you clean out these directories too often--say, weekly--you'll waste time downloading the same pages over and over. The Files to remove list shows how mu ch disk space you'll reclaim by deleting each item. If you'll gain only a few megabytes by selecting these two choices, you may want to uncheck the boxes. The third choice on the Files to remove list is Recycle Bin; checking it will empty it. The Temporary files option lets you delete files that various programs have put on your disk. These are almost always safe to delete.

4. View the List of Files to Delete

If you have any doubts about which items you can safely tell Disk Cleanup to delete, most of the i tems under Files to remove give you a list of proposed deletions. Simply select an item and choose the View Files button. The button will disappear if you select Temporary files, presumably to prevent you from manually deleting a temporary file that a pro gram is using. While you're viewing these lists, you can delete files manually by selecting them and choosing File|Delete. With the Recycle Bin, for example, you might want to click the Date Deleted button to sort the list by date and look at the most rece ntly deleted files. (Recent deletions are the ones you're most likely to discover you need after all.) If you see any that you want to keep, select all the others manually and delete them with the File|Delete command.

5. How to Convert to FAT32

If you up graded to Win 98 on an old system, odds are the disk uses the older 16-bit FAT, or file allocation table, instead of the newer 32-bit FAT. Win 98 includes a conversion utility that updates your disk so you won't have to reformat it. To run the utility, ch oose Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Drive Converter (FAT32), then work your way through the Drive Converter Wizard screens. But before you run this utility, read the next tip.

6. Should You Convert to FAT32

Before you convert to FAT32, make sur e it's the right choice. FAT32's strong point is that it uses hard disk space more efficiently. The minimum file size for FAT16 on a 1GB disk, for example, is 32K. For FAT32, it's 4K. Another benefit is that unlike FAT16, FAT32 isn't limited to a 2GB-per- d isk partition. On the other hand, you can't use DriveSpace to compress a FAT32 disk. And if you like to use your notebook's suspend-to-disk feature, it won't work with FAT32. Nor can you dual-boot your system to run most earlier versions of Windows or DOS . Additionally, some older disk utilities work only with FAT16, so you may have to upgrade your third-party utility programs. And once you've converted to FAT32, the only way to return the disk to FAT16 and reclaim these capabilities is through repartition ing and reformatting.

If you choose to convert, the Drive Converter Wizard does a good job of warning you about possible problems. Be sure to read each screen carefully as you work your way through the choices, and don't hesitate to cancel the conversion i f you have any doubts.

7. If You Convert to FAT32

If you're ready to convert your hard disk to FAT32, be sure to back up your data files beforehand, preferably your entire disk--a good idea any time you're about to make significant changes to your hard disk. If you decide you want to revert to FAT16--because you can't live without your notebook's suspend-to-disk capability after all, for example--you'll have to reformat the disk and reinstall everything from scratch, including Windows 98. If you have a b ackup, you can repartition, reformat, and then restore the disk instead of reinstalling individual programs. Ideally, you should use a backup program that includes a disaster-recovery feature, so you don't have to reinstall Windows before you run the restore.

8. Faster Defragging

Windows 98 will let you work with programs while Disk Defragmenter is running, but it's better to close all programs, avoid your computer, and go out to lunch. Depending on your disk capacity and performance, ho w much data is on it, and how fragmented it is, Disk Defragmenter can take hours. If you try using the computer while the utility is defragging your hard disk, you'll only slow the process down. In fact, if you set Disk Defragmenter to show details, and y ou keep an eye on the status line as you work in another program, you'll see that every time you do anything that writes a change to disk, Disk Defragmenter will report that the disk's contents have changed, and it will restart the defragging process. The moral: You'll get your computer back faster if you don't touch it during defragging.

9. Extend Battery Life

The new, more sophisticatedpower-management feature in Windows 98 will help you control power consumption both on a desktop system, where it affec ts your electric bill, and on a notebook, where it affects battery life. To set the power scheme for your system, choose Start|Settings|Control Panel, then double-click Power Management and go to the Power Schemes tab. You can pick one of the predefined c hoices from the Power Schemes pull-down list, or you can define your own and save it by choosing the Save As button. When you're working from a battery on a portable computer, for example, you may want to set a shorter interval for the monitor to remain o n without input than when you're plugged into a power outlet. Depending on your system, you may see choices for how long to wait for activity before the system turns off the monitor, spins down the hard disk, or puts itself in standby mode.The new power-m anagement features in Windows 98 let you specify how long the system will wait before going into standby mode or turning off the monitor. Depending on your system, you may see more controls than shown here, or fewer.

10. ScanDisk Without Waiting

Relatively little has changed in the Windows 98 version of ScanDisk, but there's at least one potentially critical difference. If you turn off or reboot your system without going through the Shut Down procedure, ScanDisk will not only run automatically the n e xt time you boot up--as it does in Windows 95 OSR2--but it will run without stopping (unless you stop it) or waiting for your input. This means you can use Windows 98 for applications such as unattended communications using a remote-operations program lik e Carbon Copy or PCAnywhere. If the system shuts down for any reason--because of a momentary power failure, for example--it will reboot without waiting for the okay to run ScanDisk. If you're at your computer when it reboots, you can skip ScanDisk, if you prefer. Simply choose the Exit button on the ScanDisk screen.

11. Decoding ScanDisk's New Option

One other change you'll notice is a new choice in the Advanced Options dialog box. To run ScanDisk manually, choose Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Scan Disk, then choose the Advanced button to view the advanced options. The one new choice is the less-than-self-explanatory "Report MS-DOS mode name length errors." This refers to the 8.3-format filename you'll see if you're in DOS mode or a DOS window. Win 95 and Win 98 save each filename in both a long format and the 8.3 format. This option tells ScanDisk to check the 8.3-format version of the name.

12. Automatic Tune-Ups

With all the utilities in Windows 98 to help you tune up your system, remembering to run them can be a chore. You'll want to take advantage of the Windows Maintenance Wizard to automate the task. To open this wizard, choose Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Windows Maintenance. To let the wizard walk you though the steps to customiz e the tune-up, choose "Change my tune-up settings or schedule" (you won't get this option the first time you run the wizard; you'll go directly to the next step). In the resulting dialog, you must select either the Express or Custom setup option. Unless yo u're in a big hurry, Custom is the better choice, because it gives you much more control over the details.

In addition to scheduling tune-ups for your system, you can use the Windows Maintenance Wizard to force an immediate tune-up. Choose Start|Programs|A ccessories|System Tools|Windows Maintenance, select "Tune up my computer now," and click OK.

13. The Maintenance Wizard

The maitanace wizard walks you through procedures such as this one, making it easy to automate system tune-ups

14. Keep Your Files Up-To-Date

Having the most up-to-date drivers and system files can make a noticeable difference in performance. Windows 98 offers an Update Wizard that can ensure you always have the latest.

The wizard, which you can access via the Web, scans your system to determine your hardware and software, then checks to see if you have the latest drivers, DLLs, and the like, by comparing what it finds with what's available on the Web site. If there are newer files, it can automatically download them for you. To run the wizard, choose Start|Windows Update. When you reach the Web site, choose Update Wizard and follow the instructions on-screen. The Windows Update Wizard scans your system and updates files such as drivers and DLLs via the Web.

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