Windows 98 From A to Z

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Imaging

The imaging component of Windows 98 has a variety of uses:


NOTE: Eastman Software company, a division of Kodak, Inc., wrote the imaging software that Microsoft licensed and integrated into its Windows 98 product.

To use the imaging software, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, and choose Programs, Accessories, and then Imaging, as shown in Figure I.1.

Figure I.1

2. The main Imaging window is shown in Figure I.2. It is from this main screen that all of your viewing, editing, and/or printing of graphical images is done.
3. To view or print a graphical image that you already have on your computer, click File and then choose Open.

Figure I.2

4. Navigate to the Windows 98 folder that contains the image you want to view or print. In the example shown in Figure I.3, I have selected a file named Harry Caray & Cubs.bmp from the WINDOWS folder.

Figure I.3

5. Click the Open button to open the file that you have selected, and voila! The image appears inside the Imaging window. Print the image by selecting File and then Print.

Playing with the various features and functions of the imaging software is probably the best way to learn to use this tool. Additionally, you can consult the Imaging tool's built-in help system, or you can contact Kodak for assistance. To obtain Kodak's contact information, do the following:

1. Click Help, and then click About Imaging to open the screen shown in Figure I.4.

Figure I.4

2. Click the Contact Info button to obtain the necessary information.

Infrared

The infrared component of Windows 98 is used to enable wireless communication between your PC and another computer. The catch here is that your computer must have a physical infrared port or device that can then be configured for this type of communication. To install the infrared device, review the section titled "Add New Hardware." To configure an installed infrared device, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, and choose Settings, then Control Panel, as shown in Figure I.5.
2. The Control Panel window, shown in Figure I.6, opens. Double-click the Infrared icon.

Figure I.5

Figure I.6

3. The Status tab of the Infrared Monitor dialog box opens, as shown in Figure I.7. The message that appears in this example simply indicates that no compatible infrared devices are within range of this computer.

Figure I.7


NOTE: The term within range can mean different things to different computers. In general, the standard infrared range is 3-6 feet. Infrared ports should not have any obstructions between them.
4. Click the Options tab to reveal the screen shown in Figure I.8. The check boxes marked are the set defaults for a generic Windows 98 infrared device. The second line, Providing Application Support on COM5 and LPT3, appears so you can easily tell from where your infrared device will be "listening" for other infrared devices (serial and/or parallel ports are where printers are found).
5. Click the Preferences tab to reveal the screen shown in Figure I.9. Among other things, this tab permits you to display an Infrared Monitor icon on the Windows 98 taskbar; you can double-click this icon to quickly return to the Infrared Monitor configuration screen.

Figure I.8

6. Click the Identification tab to view the screen shown in Figure I.10. This screen enables you to change your computer's name and to provide a brief description of it.


NOTE: Both of the infrared devices that are attempting to communicate with each other must have unique computer names. If a duplicate name found error occurs, then you should change your computer's name in the Identification tab of the Infrared Monitor dialog box.


NOTE: The Computer Description area is just an informational field that other users with infrared devices can scan to make sure that they are connecting to the correct computing device.

Figure I.9

7. Click the OK button. Windows 98 accepts any changes to the infrared configuration and returns you to the desktop. If you checked the Display the Infrared Monitor Icon on the Taskbar check box in the Preferences tab, you should see the Infrared Monitor icon on the taskbar, as shown in Figure I.11.

Figure I.10

Figure I.11

Installing Windows 98

Windows 98 is very easy to install. It can be installed either from a CD-ROM or from a network installation point (this book deals only with the CD-ROM method--it is assumed that your firm's Networking or Information Services groups handles the network installation methods).

To install Windows 98 from a CD-ROM, you must have either DOS or some previous version of Windows (version 3.1 or newer) already installed.


NOTE: If your computer system is new and the hard drive is not yet formatted, consult the manuals that came with the PC for information on formatting the hard drive.

Before you begin installing Windows 98, you should do the following:

1. Make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements for the Windows 98 operating system. This means that you must have at least 120 MB of free hard drive space and 16 MB of RAM (memory) on a PC with an Intel (or compatible) CPU. Your computer's CPU (Central Processing Unit, or "brain") must be at least equal to an Intel 80486-DX processor that runs at least 66 MHz.


NOTE: Depending on your installation method (that is, whether you are upgrading from Windows 95 or Windows 3.x, whether this is a new installation with the FAT16 file system, or whether it's a new installation with the FAT32 file system), you will probably require more drive space. Plan on the typical installation taking somewhere from 165-225 MB of drive space.
2. Confirm the existence of at least a disk operating system such as Microsoft DOS (the Windows GUI such as Windows 95 is preferred, because it makes the installation process that much easier).
3. Prepare a formatted, blank, high-density, 3 1/2-inch, 1.44 MB floppy disk to use for the creation of the Startup Disk during the installation process.

Upgrading from Windows 95

To upgrade to Windows 98 from Windows 95, do the following:

1. Start your PC and let it boot completely into Windows 95.
2. Place the Windows 98 CD in your CD-ROM drive.


NOTE: All terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs such as virus scanners and protectors, calendars, address books, and the like must be exited prior to the start of the Windows 98 installation process. Consult the help manuals for each program for assistance in stopping these extra services. Additional information can be obtained from the Windows 98 Setup.Txt file that comes on the Windows 98 CD.
3. Click the Start button, then choose Run.
4. In the ensuing Run dialog box, type the following:



x:\Setup
x equals the disk drive letter of the CD-ROM disk drive, as shown in Figure I.12.

Figure I.12

5. Click OK to begin the installation process. This starts the Windows 98 Setup Wizard. Follow all the prompts precisely as they are given on the screen, paying strict attention to the section on the creation of the Startup Disk.


NOTE: Although the Startup Disk might seem inconsequential, you'll need one in case Windows 98 fails to boot at some point in the future. Without the Startup Disk, you would not be able to get back into your computer (short of rerunning the Windows 98 installation process).


NOTE: The Windows 98 Setup Wizard usually takes 30-60 minutes to complete, and might require you to reboot your computer several times. Do not worry--this is normal.


NOTE: The installation process takes its default information from your pres-ent Windows 95 installation, but most of the precise configuration settings can be altered once the base Windows 98 operating system has been installed on your PC.
6. After the installation is complete and the system has been rebooted, you will be presented with a Welcome to Windows logon screen such as the one shown in Figure I.13. Enter your name and password (if no password is entered, you are not presented with this screen in the future), and then click OK to enter the Windows 98 operating system.


NOTE: You set your system's user ID and password the first time you enter a user ID and password into Windows 98. Also, if you do not use a password now, you are not prompted for a user ID to log on in the future.

Don't worry about typing in a password and then forgetting it. If you do not remember your password (or do not care to type one in), press the Esc key to bypass this whole logon process (so much for system security).


Figure I.13


NOTE: If your PC has a network card, then the window shown in Figure I.13 contains a third line that prompts you for a server or domain name (if you do not know the server/domain name, contact your network administrator for further assistance).

Upgrading from Windows 3.1x To upgrade to Windows 98 from Windows 3.1x, do the following:

1. Start your PC and let it boot completely into the DOS operating system.
2. Proceed to the Windows 3.1x graphical user interface (GUI) application.


NOTE: All terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs such as virus scanners and protectors, calendars, address books, and the like must be exited prior to the start of the Windows 98 installation process. Consult the help manuals for each program for assistance in stopping these extra services. Additional information can be obtained from the Windows 98 Setup.Txt file that comes on the Windows 98 CD.
3. Click the File menu on the Program Manager screen and then click Run.
4. In the ensuing Run dialog box, type the following:



x:\Setup
x equals the disk drive letter of the CD-ROM disk drive.
5. Click OK to begin the installation process. This starts the Windows 98 Setup Wizard. Follow all the prompts precisely as they are given on the screen, paying strict attention to the section on the creation of the Emergency Startup Disk.


NOTE: The Windows 98 Setup Wizard usually takes 30-60 minutes to complete, and might require you to reboot your computer several times. Do not worry--this is normal.


NOTE: The installation process takes its default information from your pres-ent Windows 95 installation, but most of the precise configuration settings can be altered once the base Windows 98 operating system has been installed on your PC.
6. After the installation is complete and the system has been rebooted, you are presented with a Welcome to Windows logon screen such as the one shown in Figure I.14. Enter your name and password (if no password is entered, you are not presented with this screen in the future), and then click OK to enter the Windows 98 operating system.

Figure I.14


NOTE: You set your system's user ID and password the first time you enter a user ID and password into Windows 98. Also, if you do not use a password now, you are not prompted for a user ID to log on in the future.

Don't worry about typing in a password and then forgetting it. If you do not remember your password (or do not care to type one in), press the Esc key to bypass this whole logon process (so much for system security).



NOTE: If your PC has a network card, then the window shown in Figure I.14 contains a third line that prompts you for a server or domain name (if you do not know the server/domain name, contact your network administrator for further assistance).

Upgrading from DOS

When you are upgrading from DOS, installing Windows 98 can be a little trickier than when you upgrade from an existing Windows 3.1x/95 implementation. To upgrade to Windows 98 from a DOS prompt (with just the DOS operating system installed), do the following:

1. Start your PC and let it boot completely into the DOS operating system.


NOTE: All terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs such as virus scanners and protectors, calendars, address books, and the like must be exited prior to the start of the Windows 98 installation process. Consult the help manuals for each program for assistance in stopping these extra services. Additional information can be obtained from the Windows 98 Setup.Txt file that comes on the Windows 98 CD.
2. Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD-ROM drive or the Setup Disk 1 floppy disk into the A:\ drive.
3. Type the following statement:



x:\Setup
x equals the disk drive letter of the CD-ROM or floppy setup disk drive.
4. Press Enter to begin the installation process. This starts the Windows 98 Setup Wizard.
5. Follow all the prompts precisely as they are given on the screen, paying strict attention to the section on the creation of the Startup Disk.


NOTE: Any applications on your computer might need to be reinstalled after the Windows 98 operating system is installed. In addition, it is possible that a few of your applications will not run at all under Windows 98. For a partial listing of applications that have trouble in the Windows 98 environment, review the Programs.Txt file on the Windows 98 installation disk(s).


NOTE: The Windows 98 Setup Wizard usually takes 30-60 minutes to complete, and might require you to reboot your computer several times. Do not worry--this is normal.
6. You are prompted for various default information, such as the name of the installation directory. It is strongly recommended that you leave the default choice of C:\Windows as the directory selection.
7. After the installation is complete and the system has been rebooted, you are presented with a Welcome to Windows logon screen such as the one shown in Figure I.15. Enter your name and password (if no password is entered, you are not presented with this screen in the future), and then click OK to enter the Windows 98 operating system.

Figure I.15


NOTE: You set your system's user ID and password the first time you enter a user ID and password into Windows 98. Also, if you do not use a password now, you are not prompted for a user ID to log on in the future.

Don't worry about typing in a password and then forgetting it. If you do not remember your password (or do not care to type one in), press the Esc key to bypass this whole logon process (so much for system security).



NOTE: If your PC has a network card, then the window shown in Figure I.15 contains a third line that prompts you for a server or domain name (if you do not know the server/domain name, contact your network administrator for further assistance).

IntelliMouse

The IntelliMouse, invented by Microsoft, looks much like a normal mouse, except that it has a little wheel located between the two mouse buttons. The purpose of this wheel is to make scrolling within Windows applications much easier--you no longer need to move your mouse pointer from the specific location in a document to the scrollbars to view a different portion of that document.


NOTE: For further discussion on general mouse terms and movements, see the section titled "Mouse."

Internet

The Internet, also known as Cyberspace, the Information Superhighway, and a billion other nicknames, is not just one giant network. It consists of tens of thousands or perhaps even millions of interconnected (or internetworked) networks. It was originally designed by the U.S. military as a post-nuclear war survival tool.

There are many components to the Internet, but the most commonly known ones are the World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Gopher sites (though Gopher is beginning to die off as of late).

To move to a site on the Internet, all you need to know is the TCP/IP address of the remote computer that houses the site, or that computer's domain name address (such as microsoft.com). With the advent of Internet browsers, GUI-based FTP software, and the sheer graphical nature of the WWW, maneuvering around the Internet has become much easier for the average lay person.

Internet Explorer 4.x

Internet Explorer (IE) 4 is the Web browser that is built into Windows 98. To use Internet Explorer, do the following:

1. Double-click the Internet Explorer icon located on the Windows 98 desktop, as shown in Figure I.16.
2. If you have not yet connected to the Internet--either through a Dial-Up Networking client or through a direct connection--an error message such as the one shown in Figure I.17 appears.

Figure I.16

Figure I.17


NOTE: For more information about connecting to the Internet, refer to the section titled "Dial-Up Networking."
If you have already connected to the Internet, you'll see a screen such as the one shown in Figure I.18. Click the Favorites menu option to display a list of sites that you've saved as favorites, as shown in Figure I.19.


NOTE: For a more detailed discussion of the Favorites menu, refer to the section titled "Favorites."

Figure I.18

Figure I.19

3. Click the View menu option to examine Internet Explorer's View options. These options enable you to configure how various features of Internet Explorer are displayed. For example, you can select the Text Labels option from the Toolbars sub-menu (as shown in Figure I.20) to place text labels on the IE toolbar (this places the text name of each icon directly below that icon's picture on the toolbar).

Figure I.20

4. Click the Help menu option to reveal and configure the available help options, as shown in Figure I.21. One of my favorite help options, Microsoft on the Web, enables you to connect directly to Microsoft's web site for timely information and product support.

Figure I.21

Playing with the features and functions of the IE browser software is probably the best way to learn to use it. For more in-depth information about using Internet Explorer, you might want to consult any number of books dedicated to this topic. A great place to find books about Internet Explorer is Macmillan Computer Publishing's Internet web site (www.mcp.com).

Internet Explorer Menu

Many Internet tools come with the full Windows 98 installation. To access these tools, click the Start button, choose Programs, and then Internet Explorer. The following tools areavailable:

Internet Mail Services

Built into Windows 98 is a series of messaging services such as Internet Mail, Internet News, and NetMeeting. These services are integrated into the Outlook Express software package. Outlook Express enables you to send and receive email to and from other users across the Internet--provided that you already have an established email account with an Internet service provider (ISP) such as Internet Illinois, or with an online service provider such as The Microsoft Network (MSN).

After you have connected to the Internet, it is possible to use Outlook Express to send and receive all email, as well as to read and participate in newsgroups (see the section titled "Outlook Express" for more information).

Intranet

An intranet looks, acts, feels, and works just like the Internet, but access to an intranet is limited to a select group of individuals.

ISDN Tools

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network, and is a special digital telephone line whose bandwidth can be much larger than that of the fastest analog modem. Typical bandwidths are 128 Kbps (which translates to 131,072 bps), as opposed to the fastest analog modem of 56 Kbps (or roughly 57,600 bits per second). Most non-metropolitan areas (population centers with fewer than 100,000 people) in the United States do not yet support ISDN, so check with your local telephone company before going out and spending a few hundred dollars on an ISDN modem.

I know of no computer manufacturers that ship ISDN modems with their PCs. However, if you do happen to own an ISDN modem, then use the Windows 98 ISDN Configuration Wizard application to properly configure it for use with the Windows 98 operating system environment.

ISDN Configuration Wizard

You can use the Windows 98 ISDN Configuration Wizard to configure an ISDN modem for use with Windows 98. This wizard cannot be run until the hardware is installed in your computer, so make sure this has been done before starting the wizard (refer to the section titled "Add New Hardware" for more information).

To use the wizard, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, choose Programs, Accessories, Communications, and then ISDN Configuration Wizard, as shown in Figure I.22.

Figure I.22

2. If you start the ISDN Configuration Wizard but do not have an ISDN modem, the error message shown in Figure I.23 will appear.
If an ISDN modem is installed, the wizard should work without a hitch. Follow all the prompts closely to complete the configuration of your ISDN modem.

Figure I.23


NOTE: If you run this wizard and your modem still does not operate properly, then you should consult the technical manuals that came with the ISDN hardware. Additional assistance can be obtained through your local telephone company or the manufacturer of the ISDN hardware.


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