Windows 98 Professional Reference

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Control Panel

• Understanding the Control Panel
  • Control Panel Files
  • Control Panel and System Registry
  • Sending Control Panel Settings to Users
  • Control Panel Tricks
• Control Panel Quick Reference and Tour
  • 32-bit ODBC
  • Accessibility Options
  • Add New Hardware
  • Add/Remove Programs
  • Date/Time
  • Display
  • Fonts
  • Game Controllers
  • Internet
  • Keyboard
  • Mail
  • Modems
  • Mouse
  • Multimedia
  • Network
  • Passwords
  • Power Management
  • Printers
  • Regional Settings
  • Sounds
  • System
  • Telephony
  • Users
• Conclusion

The Windows 98 Control Panel is a folder that contains a number of Control Panel objects, each one modifying the behavior of a different part of Windows 98. For example, there is a Network object to change network settings, a Display object to change display settings, and so forth. The Control Panel, encompassing all of these objects, provides users and administrators with a convenient single point with which to change Windows 98 settings.

Understanding the Control Panel

The Control Panel, which you can see in Figure 6.1, includes different objects for each distinct area that can be customized under Windows 98. Each icon represents a Control Panel properties page (dialog box), typically using more than one tabbed page within the dialog box.

Figure 6.1

The Control Panel folder.

Double-clicking on any of the Control Panel objects opens its dialog box, such as the Display Properties dialog box shown in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2

A sample Control Panel--Display Properties.

Control Panel Files

Each Control Panel dialog box is contained in a file ending with a .CPL extension and stored in the \Windows\System folder. These Control Panel files can be ones that were included as part of Windows 98, or that have been provided by third parties as adjunct controls for their hardware, applications, or utilities. Figure 6.3 shows a standard list of these Control Panel .CPL files.

Figure 6.3

Control Panels are kept in .CPL files in the \Windows\System.

Generally, you can identify which .CPL file corresponds to which Control Panel object simply by looking at its name. However, some of the names aren't completely obvious, so Table 6.1 lists each of the default .CPL files along with their corresponding Control Panel objects.

Table 6.1 Control Panel .CPL Files

Control Panel and System Registry

Control Panel objects generally store their settings in the Registry. However, not all settings are stored in the Registry; it is up to the programmer of each Control Panel object to determine where their settings are stored. For example, a third-party Control Panel object may store its settings in an application-specific file that is not within the Registry. The common practice, however, is to store Control Panel settings in the Registry because Registry-based settings enable better management of computers in a corporate environment.

User-specific Control Panel settings can be found in the Registry under the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel

This key stores the Registry settings for the current user. The current user's settings are determined by the System Profile active at any given time, and are usually controlled by the user. You can also see all the different users' Control Panel settings in the following Registry key (where username is each person's Windows logon name):

HKEY_USERS\username\Control Panel

Within the Control Panel Registry folder, you can see a number of subfolders, each one containing different user-specific Control Panel settings. Figure 6.4 shows the Registry Editor with the current user Control Panel settings open.

Computer-based Control Panel settings are stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\
CurrentControlSet.

Figure 6.4

Example Control Panel settings in the Registry Editor.

Sending Control Panel Settings to Users

Although you should never need to change your Control Panel settings by changing them with the Registry Editor, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Registry's Control Panel settings. You can solve some common support problems by sending users certain Registry Control Panel setting changes via an exported Registry fragment.

For example, say a user calls and complains that she was making changes in the Accessibility Control Panel, and doesn't like the changes, but doesn't know how to return all of the settings to their defaults. You can solve this problem by exporting the Registry key from a profile that contains default Accessibility settings and emailing the exported file to the user in question. She can then double-click on the .REG file that she receives from you to instantly apply all of the appropriate settings to return to the default. To send a Registry fragment for use in Control Panel setting changes, follow these steps:

1. Start the Registry Editor on a machine that is using a default User Profile.

2. Select the Registry key that contains the default settings. In this example, you would choose HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Accessibility. that you would use this Registry key rather than HKEY_USERS\username\Control Panel, so you won't have to worry about matching a username with the one on the source machine. The HKEY_CURRENT_USER key is correct after the user has logged on, and changes made there are saved back to that user's HKEY_USERS folder anyway.

3. Open the Registry menu and choose Export Registry File. You see the dialog box shown in Figure 6.5.

Figure 6.5

Exporting a Registry key for a Control Panel.

4. Ensure that the Selected Branch option button is selected, and that the indicated Registry key is correct.

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WARNING: It is very important that you do not export the entire Registry and send it to a remote user to apply. This would apply all Registry settings from one machine to another, which is something that you would never want to do to a computer that has been in use for any amount of time.

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5. Assign a name for the exported Registry file. Make sure you choose a .REG extension.

6. Click OK to save the exported file. Send the exported file to the user on a disk, over
email, or through some other mechanism.

7. Have the user double-click on the .REG file. She will be asked if she wants to update her Registry with the information in the file (this confirmation message is new to Windows 98). Have her acknowledge the warning and the changes will be instantly applied. She will need to shut down properly to save the new settings completely, although she can do so at a later time.

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NOTE: Exported Registry files (.REG files) contain text information that you can manually edit prior to importing them into a system's Registry. For example, Figure 6.6 shows the previous example's exported Registry file open in Notepad.

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Figure 6.6

A sample .REG file open in Notepad.

Control Panel Tricks

There are several tricks you can perform with the Control Panel and its .CPL files that may fill a customization or administrative need of yours at some point.

The first of these tricks involves launching a Control Panel object directly. If you double-click on any .CPL file, its associated Control Panel will be activated on the desktop. This might prove useful if you ever need speedy access to a particular Control Panel through a link on the desktop. You can simply create a shortcut to one of the .CPL files anywhere you want it.

You can also launch Control Panels from the command line, or from the Start menu's Run command. But you can't simply use the .CPL filename to launch a Control Panel in this way (as you might expect because double-clicking works), but instead must use the following command syntax:

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL control_panel.CPL

Substitute control_panel.CPL for the actual .CPL file you want to activate. For example, to launch the Game Controller Control Panel (JOY.CPL) from a command prompt or the Run dialog box, you must type the following:

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL JOY.CPL

Another trick involves opening the Control Panel window by using a little stub application called CONTROL.EXE. Simply use the Run command in the Start menu (or a command prompt) and type CONTROL to open the Control Panel.

You can create a copy of the Control Panel folder wherever you want on your system. To do this, create a new folder and assign it the following name (the values in the brackets must be typed exactly):

Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

In the preceding object name, you can assign a different folder name in place of "Control Panel," so long as the period and the bracketed value is included after whatever name you use. It is the bracketed value that actually creates the new Control Panel folder, not the name "Control Panel." One nice application of this trick is to create a new Start menu folder, and type this name for the new folder name. By doing this, you can get a normal Start menu cascading folder that allows more direct access to all of the Control Panel objects. For example, Figure 6.7 shows a new Control Panel created in a Start menu with the cascaded Control Panel objects open.

Figure 6.7

A cascading Control Panel in the Start menu.

To do this yourself, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the Start menu and choose Open.

2. Right-click in the resulting window's background and choose New, Folder.

3. Type the Control Panel object name for the new folder's name. The example shown in Figure 6.7 used this name:

Win98ProRef Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

4. Press Enter to save the folder name. The bracketed value will vanish, leaving just the folder name preceding the period as the name of the folder.

Control Panel Quick Reference and Tour

Each Control Panel object controls settings affecting very different areas of Windows 98's functioning. You will find detailed information about how to use some of these settings in the appropriate chapters in this book. For example, you will find detailed information about using the Network Control Panel in the Networking chapters (Table 6.3 provides a quick reference for finding the appropriate chapters for many of these Control Panels). You can use the information in the following table, however, to quickly locate settings within the Control Panel structure. Table 6.2 shows important Control Panel settings or classes of settings along with the actual Control Panel object and tab where you would go to change those settings. You can use this information as a quick reference to find these settings. Following Tables 6.2 and 6.3 are examples of each of the Control Panel objects, all of their pages, and descriptions of what each setting controls.

Table 6.2 Finding Common Control Panel Settings

Table 6.3 Chapter Cross-Reference for Control Panels

32-bit ODBC

The 32-bit ODBC Control Panel has been revised significantly since Windows 95 and now contains considerable additional functionality. It is also easier to use. You use the 32-bit ODBC Control Panel to set up and maintain Data Source Names (DSNs) for ODBC functionality. ODBC is used by many database access programs, including Crystal Reports, Excel, and Access. ODBC data sources provide a standard interface for a data access program to communicate with an underlying database of some sort. Figure 6.8 shows the first tab of the 32-bit ODBC Control Panel.

The User DSN and System DSN tabs are very similar. Each one is used to maintain DSNs that are unique to the logged-on user or the system, respectively. You use these tabs to add, remove, or maintain these DSN settings. The File DSN tab, on the other hand, maintains locally connected data sources that are usable by any user of the system, provided they have the equivalent DSN defined in either the User or System DSN tabs. The File DSN tab is shown in Figure 6.9.

Figure 6.8

32-bit ODBC Control Panel: User DSN tab.

Figure 6.9

32-bit ODBC Control Panel: File DSN tab.

The ODBC Drivers tab (see Figure 6.10) displays version information for all of the installed ODBC drivers, whereas the About tab (see Figure 6.11) shows version information for the ODBC core components.

Finally, the last tab shown, Tracing, offers new capabilities to trace an ODBC dialogue between a requester and a data source in order to debug problems. You can see the Tracing tab in Figure 6.12.

Figure 6.10

32-bit ODBC Control Panel: ODBC Drivers tab.

Figure 6.11

32-bit ODBC Control Panel: About tab.

Figure 6.12

32-bit ODBC Control Panel: Tracing tab.

Accessibility Options

The Accessibility Options Control Panel controls how Windows meets the needs of people with special requirements for interacting with the computer. For example, a person with reduced hearing or manipulation abilities can use the settings in Accessibility to make Windows more usable (or even simply usable). There are quite a few new settings and features in Windows 98 that dramatically improve this vital function. Figure 6.13 shows the first tab of the Accessibility Options Control Panel, while Table 6.4 overviews the main setting categories available.

Table 6.4 Accessibility Options Control Panel Main Settings

Figure 6.13

Accessibility Properties Control Panel: Keyboard tab.

Add New Hardware

The Add New Hardware Control Panel is not actually a Control Panel, but rather invokes the Add New Hardware Wizard, which guides you through the addition of new hardware device support to Windows 98. You can see the opening dialog box of the Add New Hardware Wizard in Figure 6.14.

Figure 6.14

Add New Hardware Control Panel: Wizard.

The Add New Hardware Wizard will first search the system for any new detectable devices. If it finds none, the wizard offers you the chance to specify a hardware installation file that it uses to set up the new hardware.

Add/Remove Programs

The Add/Remove Programs Control Panel lets you perform three main tasks: add or remove Windows 98-compliant applications, add or remove Windows 98's components, and create a system startup disk that can be used in case you have trouble booting the system. Figure 6.15 shows the Install/Uninstall tab, which lets you add and remove applications, Figure 6.16 shows the Windows Setup tab that lets you change which features of Windows 98 are installed on the system, and Figure 6.17 shows the Startup Disk tab.

Figure 6.15

Add/Remove Programs Control Panel: Install/Uninstall tab.

Figure 6.16

Add/Remove Programs Control Panel: Windows Setup tab.

Figure 6.17

Add/Remove Programs Control Panel: Startup Disk tab.

Date/Time

Use the Date/Time Control Panel to set the system's date and time (see Figure 6.18) and to set the system's time zone (see Figure 6.19).

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NOTE: Some application programs make use of the Time Zone tab to coordinate time-sensitive information across a network or across the Internet. For example, Microsoft Outlook sends the system's time zone along with meeting requests to other Outlook or Schedule+ users, so that the recipient's computer can automatically adjust the requested meeting time across different time zones. (In other words, if you generate a meeting request for 11a.m. from a computer set to Pacific time and send it to someone in New York with their time zone set to Eastern time, it will show on their system automatically as 2 p.m.). If a user changes this setting incorrectly (as they might do if they're trying to find out the time in another part of the world), then some applications, such as group scheduling or project management programs, will produce erroneous results.

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Figure 6.18

Date/Time Control Panel: Date & Time tab.

Figure 6.19

Date/Time Control Panel: Time Zone tab.

Display

The Display Control Panel allows a myriad of different choices that affect how Windows 98 displays information. It can be used to set background wallpapers, change the display geometry and color depth, change the colors the system uses, and so forth. This Control Panel will probably be the one most often used by your users, since people love to customize their computer's settings in these ways. Of more importance to support personnel, you can solve many problems with the Display Control Panel's Settings tab, which enables you to control screen geometry and color depth, install new or updated video drivers, and set the monitor type that is connected to the computer.

The Background tab (see Figure 6.20) lets you choose desktop wallpaper or a pattern to apply to the desktop. The Screen Saver tab, seen in Figure 6.21, lets you choose a screen saver, its settings, and also the power-saving settings for a connected Energy Star monitor. The Appearance tab (see Figure 6.22) lets you choose a Windows color scheme, or lets you select the exact color desired for different Windows 98 display elements. These three tabs are basically unchanged from Windows 95, while the tabs discussed next offer new functionality as part of Windows 98.

Figure 6.20

Display Control Panel: Background tab.

Figure 6.21

Display Control Panel: Screen Saver tab.

The Effects tab (see Figure 6.23) of the Display Control Panel includes some settings available previously only if the Microsoft Plus! Pack was installed on top of Windows 95. With it, you can change some of the default system icons, and can select a number of other options detailed in the following table.

Figure 6.22

Display Control Panel: Appearance tab.

Figure 6.23

Display Control Panel: Effects tab.

The Web tab is new to Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 4. It lets you customize the desktop when the desktop is displayed as a web page. You can, for instance, embed certain web objects onto the desktop without consuming a window. In the example shown in Figure 6.24, a few web objects were downloaded that can be used with these functions. You will generally only want to activate such objects when using a computer that has a full-time connection to the Internet.

Figure 6.24

Display Control Panel: Web tab.

The final tab, Settings, enables you to change the resolution and color depth of the display. You can also use the Advanced button to access other features for the installed display adapter, such as color matching. The Settings tab is shown in Figure 6.25.

Figure 6.25

Display Control Panel: Settings tab.

Fonts

The Fonts Control Panel lets you view all of the installed fonts in the system. You can also add new fonts by dragging the appropriate files into this folder, and you can move fonts to another system by copying these files onto a disk or network share and then dragging them into a destination system's fonts folder.

Opening the Fonts Control Panel opens the folder \Windows\Fonts just as if you had opened it through My Computer. However, although this folder looks like all other folders, there is a key difference that you may not immediately see. If you access the View menu (shown along with the Fonts folder in Figure 6.26) you will see the font-specific view commands, such as List Fonts by Similarity and Hide Variations. Otherwise, the folder acts like any other.

Figure 6.26

Fonts Control Panel: Fonts folder.

Game Controllers

Use the Game Controllers Control Panel to control any game devices connected to the system, such as joysticks, steering wheels, pedals, and so forth. The General tab (shown in Figure 6.27) lists all attached game controllers and enables you to add or remove game controllers and change their individual property settings. The Advanced tab lets you set which interface each controller is connected to.

Figure 6.27

Game Controllers Control Panel: General tab.

Internet

The Internet Control Panel, seen in Figure 6.28, lets you control how Microsoft Internet Explorer behaves on the system. This Control Panel can also be accessed in two other ways: You can right-click on the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, or you can choose Internet Options from Internet Explorer's View menu. The settings for the Internet Control Panel are detailed in Chapter 27, "Internet Browsers in Windows 98."

Keyboard

Use the Keyboard Control Panel to change the characteristics of the keyboard. There are two tabs: Speed and Language. The Speed tab (see Figure 6.29) lets you change how quickly keys repeat when held down, and how long you must wait before a held-down key automatically repeats. You also set the cursor blink rate on the Speed tab. The Language tab, shown in Figure 6.30, lets you define different keyboard types that can be used with Windows 98, such as international keyboards or keyboards utilizing an alternative key placement format (such as the DVORAK layout).

Figure 6.28

Internet Control Panel: General tab.

Figure 6.29

Keyboard Control Panel: Speed tab.

Figure 6.30

Keyboard Control Panel: Language tab.

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TIP: For you multilingual typers: You can set a hotkey on the Language tab of the Keyboard Control Panel to toggle between languages when you have an alternative language defined for the system. You could then, for instance, simply press the selected hotkey combination to switch languages.

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Mail

In the Mail Control Panel you can change how an installed email program operates. Choosing this Control Panel is the same as choosing the Properties pop-up command for the default system Inbox, Exchange Client, or Microsoft Outlook, as appropriate. The example shown in Figure 6.31 is for a system that Microsoft Outlook installed as the default email client application. You can find detailed information on the settings in this Control Panel in the documentation for the email client you have installed.

Figure 6.31

Mail Control Panel: Microsoft Outlook's Services tab.

Modems

All modems installed in a system should be managed through the Modems Control Panel. Use the General tab, shown in Figure 6.32, to add or remove modems, or to change their properties (each modem can display a different Properties dialog box). You can also set characteristics for how the system dials through the modem by clicking the Dialing Properties button, which then displays the Dialing Properties dialog box shown in Figure 6.33.

The Diagnostics tab of the Modems Control Panel (see Figure 6.34) can be used to sort out some modem problems, primarily by letting you quickly interrogate the modem to see if it's working properly (click the More Info button), and by letting you launch the Modems troubleshooter (click the Help button), a new web page-based troubleshooting tool in Windows 98.

Figure 6.32

Modems Control Panel: General tab.

Figure 6.33

Modems Control Panel: General tab's Dialing Properties dialog box.

Figure 6.34

Modems Control Panel: Diagnostics tab.

Mouse

The Mouse Control Panel is an easily used set of tabs that lets you control how the mouse
(or a trackball) behaves under Windows 98. Figure 6.35 shows the Buttons tab of the Mouse Control Panel. All of the tabs in this Control Panel are basically unchanged from Windows 95. Refer to the following table for a listing of the available settings.

Multimedia

The Multimedia Control Panel configures all of the installed multimedia devices on the system. The settings in this Control Panel are detailed in Chapter 14, "Multimedia." Figure 6.36 shows the Audio tab of the Multimedia Control Panel, and the following table summarizes the settings you can control through the entire Control Panel.

Figure 6.35

Mouse Control Panel: Buttons tab.

Figure 6.36

Multimedia Control Panel: Audio tab.

Network

The Network Control Panel is one of the most complicated in Windows 98. There are many different valid configurations, depending on the network to which Windows 98 is connected. Even when using a machine not connected to a physical network, all networking protocols and client software are controlled through the Network Control Panel, and you use this Control Panel to manage, for instance, TCP/IP settings used to connect to an ISP over a dial-up modem connection, or other network settings for remote modem access to a network server. The settings available in the Network Control Panel are detailed in Chapter 21, "Understanding Windows 98 Networking." You can see the Configuration tab in Figure 6.37, which you would use to control installed network adapters, protocols, and network client software. The Identification tab lets you set the ID information for the computer, which is used to identify the computer to a connected network. The Access Control tab lets you toggle between Share-level access control and User-level access control. (Share-level control lets you assign a password to each resource shared from the current machine, while User-level control lets you create and maintain a list of users, to whom you can then grant access to resources shared from the current machine.)

Figure 6.37

Network Control Panel: Configuration tab.

Passwords

The Passwords Control Panel is used for two things. First, you can change your password both for the local Windows computer and for any networks to which you are connected (such as a Windows NT domain or Novell network). On the Change Passwords tab (see Figure 6.38), click Change Windows Password to change the local logon password to the machine, and click Change Other Passwords to change any other network passwords.

Figure 6.38

Passwords Control Panel: Change Passwords tab.

Second, you can use the Passwords Control Panel to change whether the local computer keeps track of individual desktop settings based on the account name and password used to log on to Windows. As you can see in Figure 6.39, you can change the settings on the User Profiles tab to tell Windows to track individual user settings for the desktop and Start menu based on the account name used.

Figure 6.39

Passwords Control Panel: User Profiles tab.

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NOTE: If Remote Administration has been installed (the Remote Registry Service), you will also see a Remote Administration tab on the Passwords Control Panel. Remote Administration is discussed in Chapter 10, "Mastering the Windows 98 Registry."

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Power Management

A relatively simple Control Panel, Power Management lets you choose how the computer conserves power when not in use, and how long it waits before powering down different aspects of the system to a stand-by mode. Use the Power Schemes tab (see Figure 6.40) to choose from preprogrammed power-saving modes, and if you want to, you can then customize the amount of time that the system waits before powering down the display and hard disk.

Figure 6.40

Power Management Control Panel: Power Schemes tab.

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NOTE: The Power Management dialog box you see may differ significantly from the example shown here, depending on the power-saving features available on your specific computer.

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The second tab in Power Management, Advanced, simply lets you choose whether Windows displays a power status indicator on the Task Bar. For a battery-powered computer, you would typically display the power meter; for an AC-powered desktop, you would not.

Printers

The Printers Control Panel opens up the Printers folder, just as if you had opened the Printers folder from within My Computer. You use this folder to add and manage any connected printers. Details for performing these tasks can be found in Chapter 13, "Printing." Figure 6.41 shows a sample Printers folder opened through the Control Panel.

Regional Settings

Use the Regional Settings Control Panel to "localize" Windows 98's behavior for the particular country's standards that you want to use. You can control what currency symbol is used, how numbers are represented, and how times and dates are displayed by the system. (Generally, application programs get these settings from the Registry and then use them for their own displays and inputs). There are a number of tabs and settings, summarized in the following table. Figure 6.42 shows the Regional Settings tab, which lets you choose from a number of predefined regional settings. (All the settings in the rest of the tabs are adjusted based on the country you choose in the Regional Settings tab; you can then make any small adjustments to those settings using the remaining tabs.)

Figure 6.41

Printers Control Panel: Printers folder.

Figure 6.42

Regional Settings Control Panel: Regional Settings tab.

Sounds

Windows 98 lets you assign different sound files to different system events. You can choose from a number of sounds that are included with Windows 98 for this purpose, or reference sound files that are downloaded from the Internet or came with other application programs. All system sounds must be in the .WAV file format in order to assign them to system events. Figure 6.43 shows the Sounds tab (the only tab in this Control Panel) in which you can choose the sounds to be played for all possible system events. If any sound schemes are installed on the system, you can also choose from among them to quickly set many system event sounds.

Figure 6.43

Sounds Control Panel: Sounds tab.

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TIP: To install sound schemes included with Windows 98, use the Windows Setup tab in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel and ensure that the Multimedia Sound Schemes option is installed (you find this option in the Multimedia installation set).

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System

The System Control Panel is one of the most important for support personnel to master. With it, you can control most of the underlying hardware drivers and some very critical system settings for Windows 98.

Figure 6.44 shows the General tab of the System Control Panel. Use this tab to quickly find out which build of Windows 98 is installed onto a system, and also to find out what the product ID code is for the installation (which you will need if you call Microsoft Support).

The Device Manager tab (see Figure 6.45) is used to manage all system devices. A tree is displayed with all of the major device categories, from which you can open up any of the branches to see the installed devices. Select a device and click the Properties button to see the hardware settings for the device. There are a few tricks you can use in the Device Manager tab. First, if you select Computer at the top of the tree and then click Properties, a window displays summaries of all system IRQs, I/O addresses, DMA settings, and memory addresses (this can be crucial in resolving conflicts). Second, if you select Computer and press the asterisk key on the numeric keypad, all branches of the tree will open automatically.

Figure 6.44

System Control Panel: General tab.

Figure 6.45

System Control Panel: Device Manager tab.

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TIP: The Print button on the Device Manager tab can generate useful reports to keep on file in your MIS support office for each system for which you are responsible. You might consider printing one of these reports each time you install a new computer, and then filing it where it's readily available for support calls.

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The Hardware Profiles tab (see Figure 6.46) is generally only used with docking notebook computers. By using this tab, you can create different Hardware Profiles for when the unit is docked and undocked. See Chapter 19, "Windows 98 for Portables," for more information about how this is done.

Figure 6.46

System Control Panel: Hardware Profiles tab.

The last tab of the System Control Panel is one of the most important. On the Performance tab (see Figure 6.47) you can control many key settings affecting Windows 98's performance on a particular system.

Figure 6.47

System Control Panel: Performance tab.

The Performance tab displays summary performance setting information about the system and offers three buttons that can control more detailed settings. Click the File System button to open the File System Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 6.48. In this dialog box, you can control file system performance for CD-ROM drives, hard disks, floppy disk drives, and removable disks. You can also activate a number of different troubleshooting settings that might be needed for Windows 98 compatibility on some systems.

Figure 6.48

System Control Panel: Performance Tab, File System dialog box.

The Graphics button on the Performance tab opens an Advanced Graphics Settings dialog box in which you can "dial-in" the amount of graphics performance available from the installed video card. Generally, this setting is always set at the highest level, although you can decrease it if the video display exhibits occasional problems.

The Virtual Memory button of the Performance tab opens the Virtual Memory dialog box shown in Figure 6.49. Here, you can choose to let Windows manage the virtual memory settings for the computer or you can choose your own. As a rule, letting Windows manage the virtual memory is almost always the best choice, although you might want to use this dialog box to relocate the virtual memory swap file or set a large minimum virtual memory file size so that the system doesn't have to spend time increasing its size.

Figure 6.49

System Control Panel: Performance tab, Virtual Memory dialog box.

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WARNING: Using the Virtual Memory dialog box to disable virtual memory on the system can cause the system to be unable to boot, or to behave erratically. You should experiment with disabling virtual memory only on systems that have at least 64-128MB of RAM installed, and even then this experimentation is fairly risky if many applications are loaded and used.

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Telephony

The Telephony Control Panel lets you control the dialing parameters for the locations from which you make modem calls with the system. You can define as many dialing locations as you want, each one using different area codes or dialing strings. For instance, you might have locations set for home, the office, and for a few hotels. You can then create different Dial Up Networking connections that utilize these different dialing rules automatically.

The other tab on the Telephony Control Panel, Telephony Drivers, lets you control the installed telephony drivers on the system, such as the Unimodem driver, or any required TAPI (Telephony API) drivers.

Users

With the Users Control Panel (see Figure 6.50) you can create and maintain accounts for people who use the system. You can easily create a new user account by clicking the New User button, which leads you through the process of creating the new account, deciding which of the user's current settings will be copied to the new user account, and assigning a password for the new user to use. You can also select a listed user and click the Set Password or Change Settings buttons to affect those aspects of each user account on the local computer.

Figure 6.50

Users Control Panel: User List tab.

Conclusion

In this chapter you learned all about Windows 98's Control Panel, how to manage it, how the various Control Panels are stored on the system, and how you can access them in a variety of ways. Also, each different core Windows 98 Control Panel was shown and summarized for quick reference, with pointers to other chapters, as appropriate, for more detailed discussion.

The next chapter, "System Policies," discusses user management of Windows 98 desktop computers in much more detail, focusing on how System Policies and User Profiles are maintained and used in a networked environment. Mastering System Policies and Profiles is key to being able to support Windows 98 effectively in the corporate environment.

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