Windows 98 From A to Z

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Upgrading to Windows 98

You can install Windows 98 directly over a previous version of Microsoft Windows (either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95), thereby upgrading your system. For more information on the Windows 98 installation process, refer to the section titled "Installing Windows 98."


NOTE: Computers containing Windows versions 3.0, 386, 286, and 1.0 must be upgraded to Windows 3.1 before Windows 98 can be installed. However, it is extremely unlikely (and for the 1.0 and 286 versions, probably technically impossible) that any PCs that were designed to run those earlier versions of Windows could be upgraded enough to support even the most basic installation of Windows 95, much less Windows 98!

User Profiles

User profiles in Windows 98 enable multiple users to operate the same PC, yet each user can have his or her own personalized desktop with specific settings, screen savers, backgrounds, and so forth. To configure your computer to store specific settings, colors, and traits for each person who logs on to it, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, choose Settings, and then select Control Panel, as shown in Figure U.1.

Figure U.1

2. Double-click the Users icon in the Control Panel window, shown in Figure U.2.

Figure U.2

3. The Enable Multi-user Settings Wizard starts (see Figure U.3). Click Next to continue.

Figure U.3

4. If you are the main user, type your name in the wizard's Add User screen, shown in Figure U.4. If you are not the main user of this computer, type the name of the person who is. Click Next to continue.

Figure U.4

5. If you want to use a password, type it in the Password field of the Enter New Password screen, shown in Figure U.5. Confirm the password by typing it again in the Confirm Password field. Then click Next to con-tinue.

Figure U.5


NOTE: Unfortunately, a Windows 98 password does not really protect a PC (pressing the Esc key on the keyboard will bypass the password screen prompt when Windows 98 is first booted). However, it does slow down the person who is attempting to access your data.


NOTE: If you do not want to use a password, you can leave both password boxes blank and continue.
6. In the Personalized Items Settings screen, shown in Figure U.6, click the items you want to personalize, and then specify whether you want to create copies of current items and their content or to create new items to save disk space. It is recommended that you create copies if this is a home PC and that you create new items if this computer is used in a corporate or professional work environment. Click Next to continue.

Figure U.6

7. Click the Finish button in the final screen (see Figure U.7) to complete the wizard. You'll see the message box shown in Figure U.8 while the new user's profile is being created.
8. After the profile is created, you are prompted to restart your computer (see Figure U.9). Click Yes to restart the PC so the new user account can be used.

Figure U.7

Figure U.8

Figure U.9

The following steps show an alternative way to configure user profiles:
1. Double-click the Passwords icon in the Control Panel window, shown in Figure U.10.
2. In the Passwords Properties dialog box that appears, click the User Profiles tab to see the options shown in Figure U.11.
3. Click the second option button to allow users to customize their preferences and desktop settings. As you can see in Figure U.12, this makes available the User Profile Settings section in the lower half of the tab.

Figure U.10

Figure U.11

4. If you want a completely customized environment, check the second check box so that the Start menu and program groups are included in the user settings. Otherwise, leave the top box checked so that the desktop icons are set for specific users.
5. Restart the computer to effect these changes.

Figure U.12


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