I'd Like to Do Windows: YAU PC
by Alan Zisman (c)
1999. First published
in Toronto Computes,
October
1999
Richard Sanford asked:
How can an amateur learn the essentials of Windows
programming? Preferably
starting with assembly, basic, or fortran?
Alan replied:
You REALLY don't want to try to program Windows
applications in assembly
language! Really.
Probably the best tool for an amateur to start with is
Microsoft's Visual
Basic... it adds drag-and-drop interface creation tools with a core of
Basic-- a language that is much less fiddly than most other popular
programming
languages-- C/C++ or Java, or Pascal/Delphi.
The Dummies books are OK ways to get started-- Visual
Basic 6 for Dummies
(for example).
Of course, you also need a copy of Visual Basic, to do
this... Some
of the books around include a limited-use version of VB... for example,
I like:
Sams' Teach Yourself Visual Basic 6 in 24 hours by
Greg Perry, which
includes a CD-ROM with "Visual Basic 5 Control Creation Edition".
(US$19.99)
Alternatively, if you already have a copy of MS Word
or Office, its
macro-language, Visual Basic for Applications, is in fact, a quite
powerful
sub-set of Visual Basic, and makes a quite usable tool for learning VB
programming, without having to spend extra money.
Wayne Young wondered:
Is the CD Writer able to save a file or two at any
one time, just
like a HD does, assuming the CD is re-writable?
Alan explained:
Virtually all recent CD-ROM drives are able to read
multi-session CDs--
as a result, CD-R/RW drives can write files at various times-- even on
a write-once CD-R disk.
Software such as the popular Adaptec Direct-CD
(bundled with many CD-R
drives, including HP's) allows users to choose to use a CD-R/RW disk as
they would a big floppy-- to write to it using Explorer/My Computer,
save
from programs-- I even use it to back up machines across my network.
So yes-- you can do what you're describing... even on
lower cost CD-R
disks.
Dennis Brown asked:
If I want to remove something from the Registry to
keep it from loading
automatically upon boot up, what area in the Registry would I find
these
items in?
Alan answered:
There are several Registry areas that you want:
Run
RunOnce
RunServices
RunServicesOnce
Check in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
AND in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
You may find items repeated in both HKEYs, or some
appearing only in
one.
(Note that in Win98, there may also be a Run- area for
items removed
from Run (by unchecking them in MSConfig.. items here don?t run
automatically.
)
You may want to back uplinese you want to remove, by
selecting the line,
and then using the File/Export command to make a copy that can be added
back in if needed. Alternatively, rather than deleting the line,
modify,
by-- for example-- adding a semicolon (;) in front of the existing
text.
Bob Leggate commented:
Hi Alan: Great Column - Keep up the good
work!!
Jason Lamb's July 1999 question about a "screen
print" struck a chord
- I have been using a freebie program for several years now called
"PrintKey"
which is available at several software sites (ZD Net etc.) It is an
independant
program which in essence reactivates the old
"PrintScreen" button. It gives a "snapshot" of the
page on the screen,
with several additional graphic toys to try - partial screen,
magnifier,
etc. For a free program, it?s great. Have a look.
Alan replied:
Aww shucks! Thanks for the tip!
Peter Prasad asked:
My school age daughter has an old Window 95
computer with a 1.7 g.
hard drive. Every time she starts the computer, before being fully
loaded,
a message will appear on desktop as ?There is not enough memory to load
the registry or registry is corrupted. Some devices may not function
properly.?
How can this message be eliminated?
Alan replied:
Most often, this is caused by a lack of free DOS
conventional memory?even
on computers with lots of RAM. Try increasing the amount of
conventional
(DOS) memory?open CONFIG.SYS in a text editor such as DOS EDIT or
Windows
Notepad (assuming it does eventually start up Windows), and add the
following
three lines to the top of the file:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
That should create enough free conventional memory
(i.e. below the 640kb
DOS limit) to help.
Joey Zisman wondered:
I have a Zoltrix external modem?it doesn?t have a
volume control,
but it makes a lot of noise when I dial into the Internet. How can I
keep
from waking my parents when I go online in the middle of the night?
Alan responded:
In the Win9x Control Panel, double click on the Modems
icon. Choose
your model from the list, and click on the Properties button. Go to the
Connection tab, and click on the Advanced button. You?ll see a space
labeled
Extra Settings. Adding ?ATM0? will turn off the sound completely, while
?ATL0? will lower the sound.
These settings will work with most modems?not just
your model. And it?s
nice to see a younger person concerned about his parents!