Windows 98: To Go
Authors: Rich Grace, Grace Rich
Venue:  (1999)

From the Book:PREFACE: What this book is...and isn'tWindows 98 To Go is not meant to be a beginner's guide to Windows 98. It's not even meant to be an advanced guide. What it is meant to be is a collection of observations, tips, workarounds, and troubleshooting guides to many of the problems intermediate to advanced Windows 98 users run into.Instead of trying to tackle the entire gamut of Windows 98 subjects  everything ranging from using the mouse to setting up virtual private networks  we've chosen instead to select the subjects that most Windows users will find irksome or difficult. Windows 98 is too big and complex operating system to allow us to cover everything we wanted in a book this size. For each of the subjects, though, we've explained the issues, the problems, and how to solve them. Many parts of Windows 98 To Go contain step-by-step guides to setting up or correcting Windows components. There are also lots of tips from expert users scattered throughout the book.You don't have to read this book from beginning to end. We've divided the subjects up into self-contained chapters, such as networking or working with the Desktop, that let you jump right to the section that is of interest to you now. Need to set up a second display monitor for your system? There's a section on that. Want to set up Virtual Private Networks? We have a section for that. Need to optimize your disk's performance? You guessed it, there's a section for that.We start out this book by looking at how to get your hardware running properly. If you've ever installed a card or peripheral that didn't work the way it should, this chapter explains themostcommon problems and how to work around them. This applies for older ISA cards as well as the newest Plug-and Play card. Although many advanced users know about IRQs and memory addresses, we explain what they are, how they are used, and what settings are available to most systems. this should help you fix any existing problems with peripherals, as well as install your newest purchases easily.The second chapter looks at how to optimize your disk subsystems and obtain the maximum performance from your file system. There are a lot of different types of drives, partition schemes, and cache systems on the market, many of which have little effect on your machine's performance. This chapter looks at how you can set your filesystems up for fast access, better data protection, and how to expand your existing disk drives. You will also see the regular maintenance procedures you should be following to make sure your disks are working at their best.A couple of chapters deal with the Desktop and working with files and folders. These chapters contain information that many of us think we already know, but most will find a few surprises. For example, we all know how to copy files from one folder to another, right? Yet did you know there are several ways to do it? Setting Desktop preferences is a subject that is intensely personal for most Windows 98 users, yet few people know how to control all aspects of your Desktop. This chapter shows you the most commonly unused techniques for configuring the way Windows 98 looks and behaves for you.With the rise of the Internet, many Windows 98 users are running Internet applications in their systems. While configuring a simple connection to AOL or your local ISP may seem simple, in some cases complications arise. The Windows 98 on-line help is less than helpful, to say the least. A couple of Windows 98 To Go chapters look at the best way to set up your machine for Internet access. We don't bother with talking about which modem you should buy, or whether to go for cable modems. These are all subjects you have already decided on. Instead, we step you through setting up the most common configurations. A chapter on setting up your own Web server is included, as many of us are now setting up home pages and commercial sites. While you may not connect your Windows 98 machine to the Internet full-time, having a Web server to trial your pages on (or setting up a Web server for your in-house network) is fun and useful.We wrap up Windows 98 To Go with a look at networking. Of all the subjects that cause problems for Windows 98 users, networking ranks the highest. Still, setting up a network is straightforward once you know the steps. We also look at more advanced subjects such as Virtual Private Networks and tunneling, which some of you will need.Windows 98 To Go takes a look at using Windows 98 as a client machine on larger networks, usually controlled by a Windows NT Server. There are a number of techniques used to allow clients to behave the same way anywhere on the network and this chapter looks at the subject in some detail.Is there anything we've missed in Windows 98 To Go? Of course, there is. There are lots of subjects we don't even touch, as well as some levels of detail we don't delve into in the existing chapters. Remember that we're trying to reach the knowledgeable user and not bog you down with trivia and arcane instructions that no one will ever use. The majority of Windows 98 users can use the content of this book, and that's who we aim to please.All of the advice and step-by-step guides in this book have been tested extensively on a number of different configurations ranging from simple IDE-based desktop machines to huge, SCSI-controlled power-house servers with many peripherals hanging off the back. Of course, there's always the possibility that we've missed something somewhere, but we have tried very hard to make this book as timely and accurate as possible. We hope you find something of use to you and your system in these pages. We also hope you enjoy reading the book.