Windows 98 Installation & Configuration Handbook

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- 3 -

Selecting Windows 98 Components


by Rob Tidrow

Adding and Removing Windows Components

Chapter 2 walked you through installing Windows 98 using the Windows 98 Setup program. During this installation, you had an opportunity to select the type of installation you wanted and to choose several components that were to be installed under Windows 98. If you upgraded from Windows 95, however, your old system settings were maintained, and you didn't have an opportunity to change or add to the Components list. If you want to add additional components or remove some, you can use the Add/Remove Programs applet.

To use the Add/Remove Programs applet to install or remove Windows components, do the following:

1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box appears.

2.
Select the Windows Setup tab (see Figure 3.1). Components are divided into 12 categories (see the following section, "Reviewing Windows Components"). Check marks indicate entire categories that are installed on your system. Shaded check marks indicate that only part of the category's Components list is installed. A clear check box shows categories in which no components are installed.

FIG. 3.1 Use the Windows Setup tab to install or remove Windows components.

3. Select a component category, such as Accessories, and click Details. A dialog box with individual components under that category appears (see Figure 3.2).

If a component includes subcomponents, such as the Screen Savers component, the Details button becomes available. Click it to customize which subcomponents you want to install. Click OK.

FIG. 3.2 You can select individual components from this dialog box.


TIP: To install all the components of a category, click the category's check box until an unshaded check mark appears. Conversely, clear the check box to uninstall all components of a category.
4. Select or clear check boxes next to those components you want to install or remove. You can see the space requirements for each component on the right side of the Components list.

5.
Click OK. The Windows Setup tab appears.

6.
Continue adding or removing components.

7.
Click OK. You'll be prompted to insert the Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM or floppy disks.

Windows installs or uninstalls components as specified. Depending on the component you select, you might be prompted to restart Windows before you can start using the component.

Reviewing Windows Components

The Windows Components list is broken down into 12 categories. The following list includes the required hard disk space to install all the components for that category on your computer:

Accessibility (4.9MB)

Accessories (17.6MB)

Broadcast Data Services (0.8MB)

Communications (11.8MB)

Desktop Themes (30.5MB)

Internet Tools (15.5MB)

Microsoft Outlook Express (5.4MB)

Multilanguage Support (12.1MB)

Multimedia (14.4MB)

Online Services (1.2MB)

System Tools (8.2MB)

WebTV for Windows


NOTE: The hard disk requirements in the preceding list are based on the latest available software at the time of this writing. The final version of Windows 98 might have different components and sizes. Check the Windows Setup tab on your system for actual components and hard disk requirements.

Each of these categories with their hard disk space requirements is explained in detail in the following sections.

Accessibility (4.9MB)

Windows 98 includes several utilities that enable users who have hearing, movement, or vision impairments to use Windows 98 more easily. These utilities include keyboard-, sound-, display-, and mouse-behavior modifications, such as high-contrast color schemes, StickyKeys, and SoundSentry. It also includes the Magnifier tool, Accessibility Wizard, and high-visibility cursors. By default, Windows 98 installs the Accessibility options, which you can access from the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel (see Figure 3.3).

FIG. 3.3 By default, the Accessibility item is installed.

Table 3.1 lists and briefly describes the utilities available when you install the Accessibility options.

Table 3.1  Accessibility Options

Type of Option Option Description
Keyboard Control the way in which the keyboard operates.
StickyKeys Enables you to use the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys by pressing one key at a time, instead of holding down both at the same time.
FilterKeys Instructs Windows 98 to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. You also can slow down the repeat rate of keystrokes.
ToggleKeys Assigns a sound to beep when you press Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock.
Sound Display visual cues when your computer generates a sound.
SoundSentry Instructs Windows 98 to display visual warnings when your system makes a sound. Some of these actions include flashing the active caption bar or desktop when a sound occurs.
ShowSounds Configures your applications to display captions for the speech and sound they make.
Display Controls how your monitor displays information.
High Contrast Directs Windows 98 to use colors and fonts that are easy to read, such as white on black, black on white, or a custom combination that you provide.
Mouse Replaces the mouse with keyboard actions.
MouseKeys Enables you to control the pointer by using the numeric keypad on your keyboard. You also can change the pointer speed and choose to use MouseKeys with Num Lock on or off.
General Settings Configure Accessibility options.
Automatic Reset Turns off Accessibility features if they are idle for a specific amount of time. The default is 5 minutes.
Notification Prompts you when an Accessibility feature is turned on or off.
SerialKeys Enables you to access keyboard and mouse features by using alternative input devices, such as head pointers and eye-gaze systems.
Accessibility Wizard Walks you through configuring vision, hearing, and mobility settings.
Magnifier Enlarges sections of the screen to make text and images easier to see.

Accessories (17.6MB)

Windows accessories include the Calculator, screen savers, games, wallpaper, and other add-ons. In Windows 98, some of the accessories are improved and have been replaced by other applications. WordPad, for example, is a more powerful word processor that replaces Microsoft Write, which was available in Windows 3.x. The Windows Scripting Host is a new applet that enables you to write scripts to automate Windows tasks.

The following lists summarizes each of the accessories components:

FIG. 3.4 You can select the type of pointers that your mouse uses by choosing different schemes in the Mouse Properties dialog box.

Broadcast Data Services (0.8MB)

Broadcast Data Services installs the Announcement Listener, Webcast Client, and TV enhancements, which enable you to receive broadcast television signals on your PC.

Communications (11.8MB)

The Communications components include options for connecting to other computers through the Internet, online services, direct modem-to-modem connections, and serial and parallel cable connections.

The options available follow:

FIG. 3.5 Use Direct Cable Connection when you don't have a LAN set up but need to share files between two PCs.

FIG. 3.6 You can use NetMeeting to conduct online conferences.

Desktop Themes (30.5MB)

Desktop themes are collections of files that help dress up your Windows environment. These collections are based on themes and include full-color wallpaper bitmaps, icons, sounds, and mouse pointers. Some of these themes were available as an add-on package (Microsoft Plus!) under Windows 95.

The following is a list of the desktop themes available: Baseball (2.6MB)

Dangerous Creatures (1.5MB)

Inside Your Computer (1.6MB)

Jungle (2.1MB)

Leonardo da Vinci (2.3MB)

More Windows (0.8MB)

Mystery (1.9MB)

Nature (1.8MB)

Science (1.4MB)

Space (2.2MB)

Sports (1.6MB)

The 60s USA (1.5MB)

The Golden Era (1.6MB)

Travel (1.5MB)

Underwater (2.7MB)

Windows 98 (1.6MB)

To use the desktop themes, you also need to install the Desktop Themes support utility (2.4MB), as shown in Figure 3.7.

FIG. 3.7 The Desktop Themes support utility enables you to configure desktop themes, such as the Baseball theme.

Internet Tools (15.5MB)

The Internet Tools category includes a set of Internet components new to Windows 98. Among other tasks, you can use these tools to create HTML documents (Web pages), view Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) content, and publish Web pages to a Web server.

The following list describes each of the components in the Internet Tools category:

Microsoft Outlook Express (5.4MB)

Outlook Express is an email program, newsgroup reader, and contact manager (see Figure 3.8). You can use Outlook Express to send and retrieve Internet email, as well as participate in Internet newsgroup discussions. You'll learn more about Outlook Express in Chapter 21, "Configuring Outlook Express."

FIG. 3.8 Use Outlook Express for your messaging needs.

Multilanguage Support (12.1MB)

Windows 98 provides support for multiple languages. To write documents in different languages, select the Multilanguage Support component and select from the following options:

Multimedia (14.4MB)

The Multimedia component includes programs for playing sound, animation (including Macromedia Shockwave and Flash files), and video. You also can get support for Digital Versatile Discs (DVD) players. To select the Multimedia components to install, you must have a multimedia-compliant computer, such as one with a CD-ROM and sound card installed. The following list summarizes each component:

FIG. 3.9 In Media Player, you can play back that cool Video for Windows video clip that you've been dying to watch.

FIG. 3.10 You can adjust the volume of your speakers by using the Volume Control utility.

Online Services (1.2MB)

The Online Services category installs the software you need to connect to various online services. Through these services, you can send email, connect to newsgroups, and navigate the Internet.

The online services from which you can choose include the following:

System Tools (8.2MB)

The System Tools category provides utilities you can use to maintain your system, view Clipboard contents, convert your system to a FAT32 file system, perform other system tasks, and compress your disks.

The following summarizes each utility:

FIG. 3.11 Use the Resource Meter to see how your system resources are being used by Windows 98.

WebTV for Windows

WebTV for Windows enables you to subscribe to content that is broadcast over LANs, direct-broadcast satellites, and local TV stations. To use WebTV, you need to have a video card that supports TV reception. See Chapter 17, "Configuring PC TV Devices," for more information. l


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