Calling all Geeks- help me out, please?

This is an appeal to those of you who know how Windows-98 Second Edition works, and who could help me to straighten a couple things out.

I recently installed an OEM version of Windows 98 SE on my new PC, all went well except it names the Windows folder as C:\Windows.000 instead of just C:\Windows. No big deal there, just got to remember the .000 bit whenever necessary (BTW can that be changed without harming the system?). But, there`s a couple other things that aren`t right, so I wonder if anyone could help:

I use Windows Paint (Start>Programs>Acessories>Paint) to crop pictures taken from my video capture system quickly and easilly, and to add text or simple lines and dividers. It`s faster than Photoshop, and simpler too, and came free with Windows. For everything else, I`ll fire up Photoshop. Only I havn`t got that on the new PC yet (my old one was installed from a borrowed CD), going to to buy PS5.0 off Ebay soon, it`s cheap!.
On my old PC with an, AHEMbootlegged Win98 (1st ed from what I know), and also on the legitamit Windows 2000 machines at work, MS Paint allows you to load and save not just Bitmap files, but also GIF and Jpeg too. BUT on my new Win98SE machine, Paint only deals in Bitmap and nothing else. The MSPAINT.EXE file is the exact same version on both machines, I even checked the identical program PBRUSH.EXE that sits in the Windows folder and that`s the same too.

So my first question is: What`s causing the "old" Paint to support GIF and JPEG as well as BMP, and the "new" one to only do Bitmap. And what can I do to correct it? I assume there`s some little configuration file sitting somewhere in Windows that I could replace with the one from the old computer, to regain my Gif/JPEG support on the new machine.


On to question two. On my old machine, when I rightclick the desktop and choose "New>" I get a whacking great list of file types (from the various programs I`ve had over the years) which, importantly, includes HTML File- I use this to create new HTML web page files for experimenting with, etc. On the new PC, this NEW> list is significantly smaller as I havn`t installed much on there yet, but doesn`t include HTML File despite the fact that one of the first things I did was download and install IE5.5. Theoretically it should be there, but just isn`t.

Is there some little application deep inside Windows that can be used to add/remove stuff from this New> menu, and if so, where can I find it to add HTML FIle to it?


Many thanks in advance for helping me out. By doing this, you`ll help quicken the arrival of the Torch Reviews Site, cos for now I`m spending too long trying to make Windows do what I want it to, and I can`t do things the way I`m used to doing them until then. Sure, there are ways round it, but I`m just happier and quicker (hard to believe!) wirth the "old way".

Chris... I think I can help with the Paint thing... when you go to save the finished product, click on 'save as'... that usually gives you more options for format than just plain 'save'... if it doesn't, then simply override the .gif by changing the file extension... when it asks you to name the file, type in FILE.JPG ... that SHOULD put it in .jpg format despite Paint wanting to make it a .gif ... this can only be done with the 'save as' function though... I hope that helps? ...

Chris M.

With regards to the Paint problem, I had this problem too. According to microsoft, all windows operating systems from win98 onwards have Paint support for JPEG and GIF images.

Unfortunately the filters may not be in the correct folder(on my system, I did not even have the folders, so had to create them myself). I found this link useful for helping to correct the problem http://www.geocities.com/one_human/advanced.html#mspaint_fix

If you find that you do not have the files necessary, you can download them from that page. (I already had them, so if you dont, please be wary of viruses etc...)

If the link does not take you to the exact location(very big page) you are looking for topic [.6.]

Don't forget that the registry now has to be updated. I did this by downloading the zip file given on the page, then unzipping to give four files. To merge these with the registry, right click on each one and press "merge" (should be very first item on the dropdown). by doing it this way, it avoids you having to manually edit the registry.
If you do not have the folders necessary to take the filters, just create them where they should be.

If you need any more help, just give me a shout.


p.s.
the reason you could probably do it on the older system without any problem, is that some of the microsoft programs(some of which you prabably had installed), do all of this for you automatically.


Alan.

Chris M.

There is an amazing program called X-Setup from Xteq Systems that allows you to control the way that Windows looks and operates. For your html question here is a screenshot from Xteq:




With this program there is no direct registry editing done by you.

Try installing 'Tweak UI' from your Windows cd and you should have some control over the 'New'-menu.

Otherwise, most tweak programs will allow you to change al sort of things, including this menu. Download from C-Net.com or a simular site.

good luck.

You know, this discussion brings up a question or two from me too.

In Windows Paint (Win 98, 1st ed), how do you crop a picture? It doesn't make sense to have to deal with a huge 1280x1024 bitmap when I paste a screen dump and then only want part of the image; such as I do when dealing with the ProMetric charts.
Seems I have save the entire 1280x1024 canvas, but I'm sure there's a way around it.

Also, is there any way to add USB ports to a Win 95 machine? Win 98 doesn't work on the machine (all ability to access the net is lost, even the Win 98 internet connection wizard doesn't work) so upgrading the OS isn't an option. I have a USB add-on card, but never figured out how to get Win 95 to see it.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by alchemist:
Craig.

paint does not have a crop function, but this is a way around it.

1. load screen dump into paint, ...
4. now paste the image into the canvas<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Clunky, but it beats the alternative. Ever try stuffing a 10MB bitmap on a 1.44MB floppy so it can be put on another computer, only to be turned into a measly 18K gif?
I spend a lot of time zipping and unzipping stuff that I shouldn't really have to.
At least this way I can fit more zipped bitmaps on before the disk is full.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by alchemist:
Your USB problem is a bit more complicated. Win95 is a plug&play operating system, but you might need the product update from microsofts website to get it to work.
The motherboard may also not be able to use USB...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

According to the manual, the motherboard is USB-enabled, but you need a cable & chassis plate thingie (the part that has the actual USB sockets on it) to go with it, and nobody has them for this motherboard. Not even the comptuer shop I got the motherboard from knows who has this cable & adapter plate assembly.

So I tried disabling on-board USB from BIOS and using a PCI based USB add-on card, but the box the card came in it says it requires windows 98 or higher, and came with no software (apparently, it's something that Windows is supposed to recognise).

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by alchemist:
If you know the motherboard details, it may be worth looking on the manufacturers website to see if they have any information on the use of USB with your particular motherboard.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess I'll need to figure out where I buried the little instruction manual that came with the motherboard. I know it's a socket-7, PC100 board based on the SiS chipset. But I can't do much more until I know the exact model number.

Thanks for the tips though; especially for the Paint dillema.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by geepondy:
Regarding USB support for win95, only the third and last edition supported it. I believe the title of the disk mentions this, something like "windows 95 with USB support" or to that effect<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought I saw "USB-something" on my Win95 disc, but I don't know what "edition" this version of Windows is. Time to dig through the boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff I have around here and find that CD.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I applied the tips given on that "One Human" site (the filter files I needed were just pulled off my old PC, as I havn`t reformatted it yet), and now MSPaint will load and save in Gif and Jpeg, except it calls them "Gif Filter" and "JPG Filter" but that`s no big deal.

And I downloaded X-Setup and enabled Rightclick>New>HTM file. All is happy for now, again- thanks. I do have some questions regarding networking of two PCs but that`s for another day.

Craig, my easy way to crop images in Paint assumes you`re just copy/pasting them from an image capture program without saving them first. But pics downloaded from a digi camera work almost in the same way.

Open up Paint (I set up a shortcut in the Win98 Quick Launch bar for quickness), then load the relavent pic. Once loaded, choose Edit>Select All and drag the whole picture up and to the right till it`s aligned as you want the top and left edges to be. Then scroll to the right and bottom of the image (if it`s too big to fit on all in one go) and click/drag the little resizing square (it is very little) and resize the image area till the right and bottom edge completes the cropped image to your satisfaction. Then it`s a matter of saving it (be careful not to save photos as GIF as it vastly reduces the avaliable colors to something like 64, it`s fine for simple buttons and graphics, or to edit previously saved Gifs). Also note that the JPEG compression is fairly high. Ideal for web pages, the best compromise between compression dictortion and download time, but it can distort some graphics or sharp edges.

Oh, hey- "24" just started so I`m off to spot the flashlights. It`s 7AM so there probably won`t be any for a few months but never mind....

thanks again everyone! I knew I could rely on you.

Cropping in Paint? ... All I do is use the 'cut' feature... cut out the piece that you want... then right click on that piece and click on 'copy to'... fill in the blanks for location and file name and hit ok... then close Paint without saving... go to where you saved the 'cut' to... and viola!... a cropped picture!...

Hey, that`s a pretty neat tip. I`ll have to try that. I took a stillshot from Apollo-13 off of the TV earlier on today so I`ll have my chance to try it out in a moment when I come to upload it.

The only thing I do like about resizing it first is I can then quickly go to view the Attributes and see the pixel dimentions of the image. Essential for when I`m sticking the pic on a Web page. I`m sure there`s a way to get Windows to tell me the dimentions but I prefer to keep Windows simple- I won`t use any of that "View as Web-page" nonsense, preferring the uncluttered "Classic" view, with the folders listing Details rather than large icons.
I won`t put a picture on a Web page without specifying Height/Width (and usually the ALT text- but never use Height/Width to shrink a larger image) as it saves from the bottom of a long page of pics jumping up and down in that maddening way while it loads the pics slowly one at a time over my dialup connection.

This is why I don`t like UBB code on here and wish HTML would be turned back on- so I can do it "properly".

For those looking for a simple image handling program, I highly recommend IrFanview - it is freeware, and can display just about any image format imaginable - it even plays mpeg files if you have the codecs installed!.

You can get it here.
This is really an image viewing program rather than editor, but it is very small, fast, and easy to use, and I find it extremely useful for simple things like rotating, cropping, resizing, changing colour depth etc. Much better than fiddling with Paint or waiting for bigger programs like Paintshop Pro to load..

Graham

Craig, the version of Windows 95 you need is called 'OSR2'. You can check if it is the correct version by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting properties.
At the top, it should give the Windows 95 version number. If it ends in a B or a C you should have the correct version.

And even if you have the version, you will need to load the USB support files which will be on the CD. They are hidden away in a subdirectory under 'support', if I remember correctly. And even if you manage this, it is true that you may not be able to use some USB devices - the USB support is quite limited.

I have an offer though - I believe I have an extra Windows 98 OEM pack around somewhere (the real thing, manual with license and all) - I'd be happy to send it to you if you like.

Graham

Craig.

paint does not have a crop function, but this is a way around it.

1. load screen dump into paint, then using the "select" tool choose what you want to save, and then copy it (right mouse click, then copy)
2. select "new" in "file" do not save old image.
3. make the canvas as small as possible.

4. now paste the image into the canvas. at this point, paint will tell you canvas is too small and ask if you want it scaled up. click yes. now you have a cropped paint image, which can be resized to whatever you want through the tools already in paint.

Your USB problem is a bit more complicated. Win95 is a plug&play operating system, but you might need the product update from microsofts website to get it to work.
The motherboard may also not be able to use USB (sometimes this can be rectified by going into the BIOS and changing settings. or if you are feeling brave, sometimes you can "flash" the bios with updated patches from the motherboard manufacturers website). If you know the motherboard details, it may be worth looking on the manufacturers website to see if they have any information on the use of USB with your particular motherboard.

Alan.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Graham:
Craig, the version of Windows 95 you need is called 'OSR2'. If it ends in a B or a C you should have the correct version..<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've got 4.00.950 b. I also dug up a Win 95 CD-ROM with USB, and attempted to install the drivers as you directed, but apparently failed. The device manager now shows the USB device, but shows it as an unsuccessful device (the evil yellow circle with a "!" inside).


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Graham:
I have an offer though - I believe I have an extra Windows 98 OEM pack around somewhere (the real thing, manual with license and all) - I'd be happy to send it to you if you like.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think it will do me any good.

I just spent the last 8 hours with Win 98 installed, and although the USB worked fine (I unloaded my camera directly into this computer for the first time), I was unable to connect to the internet. Same problem as the last time I tried installing a (different) copy of Win98.

When I connected, I'd hear the modems negotiate & then connect, AT&T would successfully parse my account info & minimize the dialer (just like it's supposed to do), and then nothing after that. Neither Netscape or IE could establish any kind of connection, and neither could the AT&T Worldnet install pack I later tried.

This is the dial-up connection box.


Everything looks fine, but the "sent" and "received" bytes do not change once the handshake & account verification has occurred. The byte count is a bit different every time I attempt to connect, but it's never more than 600 bytes in either direction. Launching & closing browsers, attempting to bring up websites, queueing up my inbox, launching processes that expect an active internet connection - nothing goes through. Even the Internet Connection Wizard cannot progress past the handshake & modem negotiation. It's connected, but it's like nobody's home.

I tried manipulating every possible setting in the dial-up networking and internet options (including all the sh*t I know nothing about) , and nothing helps.

So after trying various things for three or four hours, I found a hidden diagnostic routine embedded within my AT&T software, and ran it. It dials up my ISP, apparently pings it, then gives a "pass" or "fail".


As you can see, everything passes. Yet I cannot do anything on the net, receive mail, or call up any websites. And the incoming/outgoing bytes transmitted never increase.

So now I'm back to Win 95 and no USB. Lost the Kernal patch for faster AMD processors in the "undo Windows 98" process too, so I even had to turn my CPU down to 366MHz in order to be able to boot up until I can find another copy of that.

Any ideas?!?

For the record, I was unsuccessful in trying to connect using my other computer and Win 98 either. Was hoping to at least go online for a minute and the be able to copy the working settings, but nope, no dice there either. Different kind of failure there, and one the troubleshooting wizard could not help with.

Regarding USB support for win95, only the third and last edition supported it. I believe the title of the disk mentions this, something like "windows 95 with USB support" or to that effect. There is a subfolder buried within the cd that I believe is just called USB that contains the USB drivers you must install after the OS is loaded as it's not installed automatically. I believe there is two drivers you must install. Wish I still had the disk so I could tell you the exact path. I had to do this all the time when I worked at a computer shop. When finished, you can go to your hardware device manager to see if the USB support is installed or not. Even then many hardware devices had trouble working with win95 even after the support was added.

Concerning, cropping or resizing images as you may well know, there's a multitude of shareware programs you can try that will do this. I installed the 30 day trial version of paint shop pro on my work computer and it continues to work even though the 30 day trial expired a year ago.

Anybody know any free image editing programs that can do very basic editing? Relying on paint sure is a tough way to go.

Hmm. I wish I could trouble shoot this properly for you. The connection problem in Win 98 should be straight forward to resolve, but pretty difficult to do without being there.

Regarding the USB install, did it try and find some drivers after rebooting? You need to tell it to look in windows\system for them, otherwise it won't install properly. The pre-reboot part of the install copies the files to windows\system, then it goes and looks for them after rebooting and seeing the USB device. unfortunately Windows being Windows isn't smart enough to remember where it copied them...

Graham

Craig:

On the win 98 dialup problem:

Go to:
My Computer--->Dial-up Networking.
Right click on your connection.
Click on properties.
Click on "Server types" tab.

Make sure that "PPP: Internet, Windows NT server, Windows 98 is in the top drop down window.

Below that;
ONLY the boxes "enable software compression" and TCP/IP should be checked. Uncheck any others.

Then click on the TCP/IP button on the same page.

Click the "server assigned IP address" "radio button".
Click the "Server Assigned name server addresses" button.

Then check the two boxes below that. Click OK

These are the usual settings, your ISP may have different settings, so if this doesn't work, you should call your ISP tech service- the problem isn't Win98- it is in your TCP settings.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Silviron:
Craig:

On the win 98 dialup problem:

Go to:
My Computer--->Dial-up Networking.
Right click on your connection.
Click on properties.
Click on "Server types" tab. [...]
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. At least I think I got the T-shirt.

Let me check the settings on the system as it is now (in working order) and see if these same options exist...


Yup, they're all there. The TCP/IP page was correct in Win 98. And I tried various options with the combination of buttons in the Server Types screen. But since I'm not absolutely, 100% certain I had this specific combination, I'll re-install Win 98 later today and spend a few more hours with it.

I also found a so-called "fix" for the improperly-placed USB device in device manager, and applied the fix as directed. The USB port appears to now function (it behaves the same as it does from the Win 98 desctop when connected to the camera and then disconnected a moment later), but guess what? My camera software says "Cannot be run on this OS". What a damn pisser!!!
$#$#*#!*(()%^*$&#

I notice that the "USE IP HEADER COMPRESSION" box isn't checked. Probably should be, although that probably wouldn't stop you "dead" like you are..

Are you using any kind of firewall? Zone Alarm, Norton etc?

If you have a networking (LAN etc.) card in your computer, there may be a conflict in the Network settings, but I can't help you there.

Come to think of it, I had this exact same thing happen on a Linux install a couple of months ago. Never did manage to fix it, but after a complete system re-install it worked OK... which just reinforces my opinion that it is a TCP setting at fault.