You Asked Us May 1998
by Alan Zisman
(c) 1998. First
published in Computer Player, May 1998
Leszko <leszko@sprint.ca> writes:
Would you answer to two my questions?
1. Where can I find a list of errors in Windows 95
(explanation
of error codes)?
2. If there is checked SHOW ALL FILES option in the
path: My Computer\View\Options\View
does it really mean that in Windows Explorer I will
see all files
located on my HD?
Alan Zisman replies:
1. Personally, I haven?t seen a list of all
errors in Win95. Even
the otherwise encyclopedic Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit has no
such
list. The Web site: http://www.masteringcomputers.com/tipwk/codes.htm
lists
30 Device Manager error codes, but clearly there are many more.
Searching
Alta Vista for: ?Windows 95? + ?error codes? returned about 29,000
hits?
but nearly all of the first 20 were references to a joke list. Sorry,
short
of wading through all 29,000, I can?t find anything more inclusive.
2. The Show All Files option, as the wording
suggests, shows all
files, including hidden and system files and folders. It?s ironic that
Windows (all versions) includes an option to set a file?s property as
?hidden?
when a simple options setting such as you described then lets it
appear,
and even allows it to be easily copied, run, or even deleted!
Michael Goldman (PURITY-GROUP@sympatico.ca)
wondered:
1) I would be interested in knowing your opinion on
all the hype
about Windows 98.
What will be new? will it still rely on DOS? will
it have the patches
built in for the TX Motherboards?
2) I currently have a Pentium Pro 200 system w/ 98
MEG EDO-RAM. I
am not using NT so I'm not getting the full benefit of the Pro. I find
my system slow. I use Corel 8, Adobe, Visual Dbase 7 etc. on a 95
platform.
I was considering moving up to a Pentium 11 266 on a
TX MB w/ 128
MEG-DIMM . Do you think I will receive more speed for the money I will
spend?
I would appreciate your opinion on this before I
lay out the money.
Alan Zisman answered:
1) Win98 has the same relation to Win95 that Win 3.1
had to Win 3.0...
i.e. a modest upgrade, incorporating the new hardware that has emerged
in the past few tears (DVD, USB, etc), some modest performance-tuning,
and few interface tweaks.
It will have exactly the same relation to DOS as W95
does (i.e. a complex
inter-relation). Unlike Win95, TX support is built in.
While it's a useful but modest upgrade, my
recommendation-- users with
existing systems that are working well don't need to be in a hurry to
upgrade,
unless they want to take advantage of FAT32 support for large hard
drive
partitions.
If you buy a new system after the scheduled June 25th
release date,
it will most likely be included.
2) The P-II is better optimized for Win95 than the
P-Pro was; that,
the additional clock-speed, and the additional RAM will result in
better
performance.
Will it be SO much faster that you'll feel like you've
gotten value
for your money? Only you'll be able to tell that. All other things
being
equal, the clock-speed increase alone would result in about 33%
improvement
on CPU-intensive tasks. However, some of the studies in a field of
psychology
known as 'Least Measurable Difference' (notice how far we stray from
computer
hardware here) suggest that it take about a 50% improvement before most
people really notice a difference... And computer performance also
depends
on other factors than raw CPU speed/power, such as hard drive speed,
video
speed, and amount/kind of caching (and the P-II uses less efficient
caching
than the P-Pro, with its large cache right on the CPU).
In an ideal universe, you'd be able to try out your
new system, with
at least some of your software, before purchasing.
Finally, Win95 has had its share of problems w. the TX
motherboards...
there are patches available from the motherboard manufacturers...
discuss
this issue with your vendor, and make sure that the proper patch for
your
board has been applied (and that you have a copy, in case you need to
reinstall).
Gerald Parker queried:
I have an older 2x CD-ROM on my computer. The
problem is that
it won't work under DOS mode. Can you help me?
Alan Zisman responded:
You need two sorts of files to allow your CD to run
under DOS mode...
one file is specific to your make/model of CD... it needs to be loaded
into CONFIG.SYS. The other is the DOS MSCDEX.EXE file (in
C:\Windows\Command)...
it should be loaded in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
For DOS Mode, these files can be loaded by editing the
properties of
your C:\Windows\Exit to DOS.Pif file-- right-click on the file in
My Computer/Explorer, and select Properties from the popup menu. Go to
the
Program tab, and click on the Advanced button... you'll see fields
for Config and Autoexec for MS DOS Mode.
You should have received a floppy disk with your
CD-ROM, with the DOS
driver; if not, you may have to go to your retailer, or check whether
the
CD manufacturer has a web page. Since this driver is different for
different CD-ROM models, it is not included with W95.
The Config.sys line should read something like:
DEVICEHIGH=TEAC_CDI.SYS /D:MSCD001
(with the driver file that works for your model)
The Autoexec.bat line should read something like:
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001
Note that the /D:MSCD001 should be identical for the
two lines.