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Win95 Bits & Pieces by Spider-Boy

Updated 12/07/2000

Floppies & Icons!

Floppy Disk Quick Format

Have you ever found a floppy full of stuff that you know you'll never use again? Floppy disks aren't expensive, but why waste them? If the disk is in good condition, you can use it again without writing over the existing files/stuff.

With the disk inserted in your A:\ drive > double-click My Computer > right-click the floppy drive icon > and then select Format. Now select Quick( Erase ). If you wish, you can label the disk( I rarely do ) up to eleven characters. Now click OK > click Close and you are done. Now the disk is ready for use when you need it.

Full Floppy Format

To perform a Full Format, simply follow the directions above...but inside the Format dialogue box > select Full under Format Type. Then type a label for the disk > click OK, and Win95 will proceed to wipe the disk clean, check it for errors, and prepare it for storage. This method is just a bit better if you intend to store information that you will keep long-term. It more-or-less assures disk integrity before use.

Must Have Icons

To cut down on the number of clicks in Win95, you might want to place shortcuts to the items that you use the most...Control Panel and your A:\ drive...right on the desktop.

To do this, open My Computer > locate the Control Panel icon > drag it onto the desktop > release it and click Yes that you wish to create the shortcut. Do the same thing with your A:\ drive( floppy drive ) icon and then close My Computer. From this point on, accessing these two items is just a one-step operation rather than a click and seek.

Show Desktop--Both Ways

With Internet Explorer 4.x or higher installed on your computer, you will have a Quick Launch toolbar next to the Start button. This row of icons includes the Show Desktop icon( which you can click to minimize all windows and go directly to the desktop ).

This is very convenient. But it also goes the other way...after clicking it once to show desktop, clicking it again will restore all windows to their original position! NOTE: If you have done anything on the desktop before clicking the icon again( open and close a window, for example )...you may have to click the Show Desktop icon twice to restore your windows.

Change Icon Font

To change the font of your desktop icons...right-click the desktop > select Properties > click the Appearance tab and under Item, select Icon. On the line below that > select a new Font and Size( do not adjust the Size to the right of the Item list...or you will change the icon size ) > then click Apply. Open an Explorer window( or switch to desktop ) for a preview of the new setting. If you like it > click OK. If not, then change it again until you find one that you like.

To return it later, the default icon font for the Windows Standard color scheme is 8-point, MS Sans Serif( Western ).

Make Icons Larger

This tip is for the Microsoft Plus! user. You can make your icons larger without having to mess around with different sizes in the Display Properties dialog box. This version of Win95 includes an option for quick icon growth. Just click the Plus! tab in the Display Properties dialog box...right-click the desktop > select Properties > then select the first option under Visual Settings > Use Large Icons > now click OK and the icons will enlarge!

Device Manager Shortcut

Do you use the Device Manager a lot? You might want to access it in a more efficient manner such as holding down the Alt key as you double-click MY Computer, then click the Device Manager tab.

But...there is a faster way. Just create a custom shortcut and place it in a convenient location( such as your desktop or Start Menu ), then you go go right to Device Manager in a snap!

To accomplish this, right-click the desktop( or folder in which you would like to place the shortcut ) > select New > Shortcut. Then, in the text box under Command Line > type exactly...

C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.EXE Sysdm.cpl,System,1

Click the Next button and then type the name:

Device Manager

and then click Finish. From this point on...that shortcut will take you right to the Device Manager tab of the System Properties dialog box.