This book is dedicated with much affection to Vickie and Zina for the truly wonderful things they do to touch children's lives every day.
Many people helped in the creation of this book in one way or another. Jim Boyce offers his thanks to:
Stephanie Layton for the opportunity to do the project.
Mark Cierzniak for all the help structuring and organizing the book.
Stephanie Layton, Jeff Koch, and Jane Brownlow for their usual outstanding job of putting together and coordinating the project.
Susan Ross Moore, Sarah Burkhart, Molly Warnes, and Cliff Shubbs for an outstanding job of editing and fine-tuning the book.
Brad Lindaas, Kyle Bryant, Ron Ellenbecker, and Bryan Morgan for an outstanding job of technical editing. The book is much better because of their thoroughness and testing.
The Production department of Mac-millan Computer Publishing for once again turning text and illustrations into a real book.
John Schmitt, welcome back to the real world.
As part of our continuing effort to produce books of the highest possible quality, Macmillan Computer Pub-lishing would like to hear your comments. To stay competitive, we really want you, as a computer book reader and user, to let us know what you like or dislike most about this book or other Macmillan Computer Publishing products.
You can mail comments, ideas, or suggestions for improving future editions to the address below, or send us a fax at (317) 581-4663. Our staff and authors are available for questions and comments through our Internet site at http://www.mcp.com.
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Thanks in advance--your comments will help us to continue publishing the best books available on new computer technologies in today's market.
Mark Cierzniak Development Editor Macmillan Computer Publishing USA 201 W. 103rd Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46290 USA
Jim Boyce, the lead author of Inside Windows 98, is a Contributing Editor and monthly columnist for Windows Magazine. Jim has authored and co-authored over 35 books about computer software and hardware. He has been involved with computers since the late seventies as a programmer and systems manager. He has a wide range of experience in the DOS, Windows, Windows NT, and UNIX environments. In addition to a full-time writing career, Jim is a founding partner and Vice President of Prairie Communications, a Midwest-based telecommunications corporation specializing in local and wide-area network design and Internet services.
Kyle Bryant, Microsoft MVP for NT and Operating Systems, is the owner of a Dallas-based PC network integration firm and has over 15 years experience in the personal computer industry. He was an early advocate of the Microsoft Windows platform and continues to follow Windows technology developments under Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT.
Michael Desmond is a senior associate editor at PC World magazine and author of Peter Norton's Guide to Upgrading and Repairing PCs. He is president of the Computer Press Assocation, an organization of working editors, writers, and producers covering computing issues and the industry. He is a contributor to both Special Edition Using Windows 98 and Platinum Edition Using Windows 98, and was coauthor of Platinum Edition Using Windows 95. Michael lives in Vermont with his wife, Anne, and two sons, Kevin and Patrick.
Kevin Frank is an MCSE and is currently Sr. Project Leader at Penguin Putnam Inc. He is managing several projects including the implementation of Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 with a rollout of MS Outlook to over 1,000 workstations. Prior to this, Kevin served various Fortune 500 companies as a member of project teams that installed, supported, and customized document-imaging systems on the NT platform. He is fluent in Visual Basic as well as versed in two proprietary 4GL Lisp derivatives. He has written extensively for several business re-engineering projects. He can be reached at kfrank@putnam.com.
Amy Helen Johnson is a Senior Technology Editor at Windows Magazine. She is the author of How to Implement Netscape LiveWire Pro. Before she started her career in technology journalism, she earned a degree in computer science from UC Berkeley and worked as a computer programmer and IT specialist.
Grant King is a software developer, author, and attorney who lives in Atlanta with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Elizabeth. He has been either the lead author or a contributing author on several books and articles relating to 32-bit Windows operating systems and software development. He also maintains The Windows Mill, a Web site devoted to news about Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. Grant received his B.A. from The University of the South and his J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law where he graduated magna cum laude. His email address is ggking3@mindspring.com.
Peter Kuo, Ph.D. and president of DreamLAN Network Consulting Ltd. (home of the NDS ToolKit), is based in Toronto, Canada. He is the first Canadian Enterprise CNE, one of the world's first Master CNEs and Master CNIs, and is the world's first Novell Certified Internet Professional (CIP). Furthermore, he is a Certified Network Expert (CNX, Ethernet, and Token Ring). Peter has over 20 years of computer and related experience. He has worked with all versions of NetWare since v2.0a, including NetWare for VMS. His areas of expertise include advanced NetWare topics such as network management, Novell Directory Services, and IBM, UNIX, and Internet connectivity issues. In addition to presenting seminars at NetWorld+InterOp and NetWare Users International (NUI) conferences, Peter is a member of the Editorial Committee for NetWare Connection magazine, and has authored, co-authored, technical edited, and contributed to many computer books (such as NDS Troubleshooting, NetWare 4.1 Survival Guide, and NetWare Web Development), Novell AppNotes, and other publications. DreamLAN's home page is at http://www.dreamlan.com.
Robert Oliver is a Windows software development consultant and Windows NT specialist. His professional interests include Active Server Pages, NetShow streaming multimedia, and Windows NT development. When he is not busy consulting, writing, teaching, or developing Desktop Broadcasting solutions, he can be found in the local toy stores searching for Star Wars toys.
Michael Porter is an Information Systems professional who owns a consulting business specializing in the troubleshooting and optimization of Microsoft operating systems, as well as integrating small businesses with the Internet. He can be reached at Triad@msn.com.
Mark A. Sportack is an experienced Information Technology (IT) professional with over 15 years experience in progressive levels of responsibility and in many facets of IT. He has an MBA in Management of Technology, and his experience includes project management, forecasting and managing multi-million dollar capital budgets, short- and long-range IT infrastructure planning, systems and applications design/development, directing implementation teams, and management of both technology and technical personnel. He is currently employed by AT&T and is an Information Technology Architect for AT&T's CIO organization.
Rob Tidrow is a writer, Web site designer, trainer, and president of Tidrow Communications, Inc., a firm specializing in content creation and delivery. Rob has authored or co-authored over 25 books on a wide variety of computer topics, including Windows 95, Netscape Communicator 4, Windows NT, and Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0. He authored Windows 95 Registry Troubleshooting, Windows NT Registry Troubleshooting, Implementing and Supporting Windows 95, all published by New Riders and Windows 95 Installation and Configuration Handbook, published by Que. He is also contributing author to Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 97; Inside Windows 95, Deluxe Edition; Platinum Edition Using Windows 95; Inside the World Wide Web; and Windows 95 for Network Administrators, all published by Macmillan Publishing. He lives in Indianapolis, IN, with his wife Tammy and their two sons, Adam and Wesley. You can reach him on the Internet at rtidrow@iquest.net.
Serdar Yegulalp has been writing both as a freelancer and staffer for a number of computer publications, including Computer Buyer's Guide and Handbook and Computer Retail Week, and has contributed to other MCP books in the past, including the Platinum Edition Using NT 4.0 and Windows 98 Installation and Configuration Handbook. He is currently Associate Technology Editor for Windows Magazine, where he writes and researches on Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows NT 5.0. Email him at syegul@winmag.com.
Welcome to Inside Windows 98, your complete guide to Microsoft Windows 98. With the release of Windows 98, Microsoft has introduced an operating system geared not only toward ease-of-use and better performance, but one that closely integrates Internet content with the desktop.
Inside Windows 98 is written for the computer-literate user who is migrating from DOS or another operating system to Windows 98, or upgrading from Windows 3.x or Windows 95 to Windows 98. Within the pages of this book you will find solid explanations of core Windows 98 features, along with expert tips and tricks for optimizing your system and Windows 98.
Inside Windows 98 is written for the experienced Windows user who wants to learn more about Windows 98. This book assumes you have some Windows experience and want to know more about Windows 98's architecture, core features, and internal functions.
You can learn how to apply Windows 98's latest enhancements to your own computer work without relearning Windows concepts and functions you already know through your own experience. Specifically, this book makes the following assumptions about your Windows skill level:
Inside Windows 98 is designed as a reference to help experienced computer users find information quickly. To make finding the information easier, the book is divided into parts, each of which covers a specific group of Windows 98 concepts and features.
Part I introduces the Windows 98 environment and explores the options you have for installing and configuring Windows 98. Within the five chapters in Part I are a tour of Windows 98, a detailed discussion of setup and configuration issues, tips on troubleshooting installation and Windows 98 startup, and an explanation of hardware detection and adding new hardware.
The Windows 98 GUI (graphical user interface) is considerably different from the interface in Windows 3.x, and somewhat different from Windows 95. The Windows 98 interface offers better ease-of-use, enhanced power and flexibility, and improved program and document management. Within Part II's chapters, you learn about the Windows 98 interface and how to use it, the file/folder paradigm employed by Windows 98, and how to manage files and directories in Windows 98. Other chapters explain printing, interface customization, and the use of Accessibility options.
Part III offers a deeper look into some of the key components of Windows 98. The chapters in this part provide a detailed look at system selection and hardware upgrades, the Registry, and how to optimize physical and virtual memory. You also learn about the disk utilities in Windows 98 and how to apply them to optimize your system's disk storage space.
Part IV helps you begin to apply some of the new, powerful features in Windows 98. The chapters in this part explain how to create and use a Briefcase for file synchronization and how to use new features in Windows 98 that support expanded multimedia capabilities. Part IV also explores how to use Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), integrate DOS applications and tools into your Windows 98 environment, and automate tasks using the new Windows Scripting Host (WSH).
Windows 98 provides an excellent platform for data communications and connecting to the Internet. The chapters in Part V cover installation and configuration of modems, using Dial-Up Networking and Direct Cable Connection, and the various options for e-mail offered by Windows 98.
Windows 98 builds on the Internet support in Windows 95 to improve Internet access and integrate Internet and intranet content within the Windows 98 environment and on the desktop. The chapters in Part VI show you how to configure and use Windows 98 to connect to the Internet. You'll also find extensive material on using the many TCP/IP utilities included with Windows 98 for browsing, FTP, testing, and much more. You'll also find coverage of Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which enables you to establish a secure connection to your office LAN through the Internet.
Networking is considerably improved and simplified in Windows 98. Part VII provides a detailed look at configuring and using Windows 98's network features, starting with an in-depth look at network concepts. Also covered in detail are peer-to-peer networking with Windows 98 and using Windows 98 as a Windows NT or Novell NetWare client.
The last chapters include a discussion of system policies and user profiles, along with the remote administration features offered in Windows 98. Also discussed are all the support tools, such as the Windows Update Manager and System Information Utility.
Throughout this book, certain conventions are used to help you distinguish the various elements of Windows 98, DOS, their system files, and sample data. Before you look ahead, you should spend a moment examining the following conventions:
Inside Windows 98 features many special sidebars, which are set apart from the normal text by icons. Three different types of sidebars are used: Notes, Tips, and Warnings:
NOTE: Notes include extra information that you should find useful, but which complements the discussion at hand instead of being a part of it.Notes might describe special situations that result from unusual circumstances. These sidebars tell you what to expect or what steps to take when such situations occur. Notes also might tell you how to avoid problems with your software and hardware.
TIP: Tips provide you with quick instructions for getting the most from your Windows 98 system. A Tip might show you how to conserve memory in some setups, how to speed up a procedure, or how to perform one of many time-saving and system-enhancing techniques.
WARNING: Warnings inform you when a procedure might be dangerous--that is, when you run the risk of losing data, locking your system, or even damaging your hardware. Warnings generally tell you how to avoid such losses or describe the steps you can take to remedy them.
These sidebars enhance the likelihood that Inside Windows 98 will be able to answer your most pressing questions about Windows 98 use, architecture, and performance. Although Notes, Tips, and Warnings do not condense an entire section into a few steps, these snippets will point you in new directions for solutions to your needs and problems.
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