                           Windows 95 Registry

           Tricks, Speedups, Tweaks, Hacks, Workarounds & Fixes


                              Introduction


The Windows 95 Registry is a unified database for storing system and
application configuration data in a hierarchical form.
Its role is to replace the .INI files used by older Windows 3.xx
versions. All data from the system initialization files: SYSTEM.INI,
WIN.INI, CONTROL.INI etc., is now contained into the Registry, together
with most of the other system settings.
All Windows 95 specific programs (32bit applications) now store their
initialization data into the Registry instead of into .INI files.
The actual Registry files are: SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT (and their
automatically created backups from the last successful Win95 startup:
SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0), located in the Windows 95 folder (default is
\WINDOWS). For write-protection purposes, all these four files have the
following attributes: hidden, read-only, system.


                           Registry Structure


When you run the Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe), you see the following
Registry expandable subtrees under the "My Computer" header:

+ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT: Contains software settings about drag-and-drop
  operations, handles shortcut information, and other user interface
  information. There is a subkey here for every file association that
  has been defined.

+ HKEY_CURRENT_USER: Contains information regarding the currently
  logged-on user (see also HKEY_USERS below).
     + AppEvents: Settings for assigned sounds to play for system and
       applications sound events.
     + Control Panel: Control Panel settings, similar to system.ini,
       win.ini and control.ini in Windows 3.xx.
     + InstallLocationsMRU: Contains the paths for the Startup folder
       programs.
     + Keyboard layout: Specifies current keyboard layout.
     + Network: Network connection information.
     + RemoteAccess: Current log-on location information, if using Dial-Up
       Networking.
     + Software: Software configuration settings for the currently
       logged-on user.

+ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE: Contains information about the hardware and
  software settings that are generic to all users of this computer.
  Subkeys include:
     + Config: Configuration information/settings.
     + Enum: Hardware device information/settings.
     + Hardware: Serial communication port(s) information/settings.
     + Network: Information about network(s) the user is currently logged
       onto.
     + Security: Network security settings.
     + Software: Software specific information/settings.
     + System: System startup and device driver information and operating
       system settings.

+ HKEY_USERS: Contains information about desktop and user settings for
  each user that logs onto the same Windows 95 system. Each user will have
  a subkey under this heading. If there is only one user, the subkey is
  ".default".

+ HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG: Contains information about the current hardware
  configuration, pointing to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

+ HKEY_DYN_DATA: Contains dynamic information about the plug-and-play
  devices installed on the system. The data here changes if devices are
  added or removed on-the-fly.



                         Registry Editting Rules


To edit the Registry, you need to run the Registry Editor, a program called
RegEdit.exe, located in your Windows 95 folder (default is \WINDOWS).

* IMPORTANT: BACKUP Windows 95's Registry Files (SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT,
             SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0) and System Files (SYSTEM.INI and
             WIN.INI) BEFORE ATEMPTING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES !

* BEWARE: When you add/delete/modify a Registry item/value/key/string,
          IT WILL NOT PROMPT YOU FOR CONFIRMATION ON SAVING THE CHANGES OR
          BEFORE CLOSING THE REGISTRY EDITOR!

NOTE: If you are not familiar/comfortable with "messing around" with your
Win95 Registry file structure/settings, do NOT atempt to make any changes
to the Registry!

NOTE: To learn more about how to modify/add/delete any items/values/keys or
      strings into Win95's Registry, run RegEdit.exe, and click on Help.
      Read carefully all the related topics!

To learn more about Win95's Registry Structure, open the WIN95RK.HLP
file, found on your Win95 install CD-ROM, in the \ADMIN\RESKIT\HELPFILE
folder, and READ carefully all Registry related topics (especially the
Hierarchy topic)!

NOTE: These tips have been tried by Win95 users (and some by me), but with
      no guarantee they will also work on your system!
      So take extreme caution when making changes to the Registry settings!
      Faulty Registry entries may result in Windows 95 system crashes
      or/and lockups!

In the following Registry editting tips, the pathways (in the Registry
Editor left-hand pane screen) point to a specific item/key/string/binary
value, located in the right-hand pane, into Registry's tree structure,
with explanations of what they do, and how/why you may want to modify them
to customize/speedup/fix your Windows 95 system.
As far as I know, this is the most comprehensive online database of Win95
Registry tips. I'll keep adding more in a future release.
If you have any Registry tips/hacks of your own, I'd be happy to add them to
this database, if you'd agree to send them to me (and I'll mention your name
as contributor/author). Also, if you have any comments/ideas/questions, send
me a "wire" at:
axcel216@aol.com

REMINDER: this file, REGISTRY.TXT (same as this entire archive) is FREEWARE
          (to be freely distributed unmodified).

Thanx for your time and patience.
Hope you'll find here some tricks to your liking...

... 'Nough said. And now let's have some fun:


REGISTRY.TXT Topics Contents:

BLINK... NOT!  (My own trick)
MENUSHOWDELAY
RENAME RECYCLE BIN
DITCH RECYCLE BIN
SHOW BMP ICONS
NAMENUMERICTAIL
MIDDLE BUTTON
OPEN NEW WINDOW
NEW MENU
DITCH THOSE ARROWS!
CHANGE ARROWS
DOS MODE OPTIONS
ADD NEW TIPS
MINANIMATE
UPDATEMODE
MOVE STARTUP FOLDER
DOCUMENTS OFF!
ADD NEW SOUNDS
REMOVE NETWORK NEIGHBORHOOD
VIDEO REFRESH RATE
HARD DRIVE THRASHING
MODEM INITIALIZATION STRING
RECEIVE WINDOWS
MODEM TIMEOUT
REMOVE PROGRAMS
RUN COMMAND HISTORY
NEW COMMANDS
DAVID SPENCER'S NEW RIGHT-CLICK COMMANDS MENU
NUMLOCK
CLEAR DESKTOP ICONS
NO LOG  (My own trick)
NOTEPAD FONT
NETWORK SERVER




BLINK... NOT!  (My own trick)

To change the cursor blinking rate to NON-BLINKING in any text editor,
word processor or command line in Win95, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop\CursorBlinkRate
Highlight CursorBlinkRate in the right-hand pane, right-click on it, click
Modify, change the numeric value to -1 and click OK. Close Regedit and
restart Win95.
NOTE: This setting doesn't apply to the MS-DOS mode.


MENUSHOWDELAY

Speed-up Start menu: open Regedit and create a new string (key) under:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
and name it MenuShowDelay. Give it a value from 0 (fastest) to 10 (slowest).
These values are the time in milliseconds that the popup will wait before
showing. Restart Win95 to see the Start menu open its popups instantaneously.
MenuShowDelay=0
is the fastest rate, higher numbers are slower (permited: 0-10).


RENAME RECYCLE BIN

To change the name of the Recycle Bin icon, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever tickles your fantasy. 


DITCH RECYCLE BIN

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files (that you may want
to recover some day though...), you can get rid of its desktop icon all
together. Open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
Find the string "Recycle Bin" and press Delete. That's it, folks.


SHOW BMP ICONS

I found two ways to have the icons of all your BMP-s show as a small
picture of the actual bitmap:
1. Open Regedit, find Paint.Picture (or whichever program BMP-s are
registered to). Add a new key under Paint.Picture named DefaultIcon.
In the right pane, change the default value (by double clicking it) to %1.
%1 tells Win95 that the default icon for this file type is in the file
itself, and since there is no icon in a BMP file, Windows 95 makes a small
preview image of the BMP for the icon. Sorting/viewing BMPs is now easy.
This will allow you to use the BMP files as icons and they will also show
up in Explorer.
2. Open Regedit, and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Paint.Picture\DefaultIcon
In the right-hand pane, double-click on the Default value, and change it
from "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COOL.DLL,41" to "%1".


NAMENUMERICTAIL

To have a directory named "New Documents" in Win95, but have the short file
name be "DOCUMENT" instead of "NEWDOC~1":
The only time short filenames are relevant is in a mixed computing
environment (Windows 3.1x and Win95), to share files with systems that
don't support LFN-s:
1. Start LFN-s with the short version: rename the above folder
DOCUMENTS-NEW, which would resolve to Docume~1.
2. Get rid of the tildes: add the value:
NameNumericTail=0
in the following Registry binary key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
and the above example (assuming there wasn't already a \DOCUMENT folder)
would resolve to the correct eight-character name.


MIDDLE BUTTON

To use a Logitech (or compatible) middle Mouse button as a double-click:
Open Regedit, and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Logitech\MouseWare\CurrentVersion\SerialV\0000
In the right-hand pane, modify "DoubleClick"="000" to read:
"DoubleClick"="001"
Or maybe you have this other version:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Logitech\Mouseware\CurrentVersion\Serial\0000
In the right hand pane, double-click the "Double Click" key and change
the value from "000" to "001".


OPEN NEW WINDOW

If you're browsing through folder windows, it's usually nice to have Win95
set to use a single window that changes when you open a new folder.
However, if you want to copy or move files around, you should be able to
quickly open a separate window or a folder.
This can be done by holding "CTRL" as you double-click, but it would be nice
to have this option on the right-click menu, next to "Open" and "Explore".
To add this to the menu, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Default Icon\shell\shellex.
Under "shell", add a new key called "opennew". Modify its (Default) value to
say "Open New &Window". Then, add another key under "opennew". Call this one
"command", and set its (Default) value to "explorer %1". A side effect is
that "Open New Window" now also appears when you right-click on the Start
Button, which is completely pointless because it does that anyway.


NEW MENU

To add file types to the New menu item on the mouse menu, edit the
Registry. Find the extension of the data file for the program in question
(i.e. .doc for Word) under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Below the files extension
you need to add a new key with the value 'ShellNew'.  
Once that key is in place you have 2 options: 1 is to start with a null
file (one with no preset styles, etc), the other is to start from a
template file.  
For a null file, in the ShellNew key insert a new string value named
'NullFile' and leave the value blank. To use a template file, insert a new
string value named 'FileName' and set the value equal to the path of the
template document.
The default is in the hidden ShellNew subdirectory beneath your Win95
directory.
When you use the New feature of the button menu, Win95 either copies the
template file or creates a null file.


DITCH THOSE ARROWS!

To get rid of ALL shortcut desktop arrows: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk
open it and delete the "IsShortcut" key. Then find:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pif
open it and delete the "IsShortcut" key as well. Restart Win95.


CHANGE ARROWS

To change the shortcut arrows on your shortcut icons, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Shell Icons
Change the value labeled 29 (could be different on your system) to the icon
file of your choice.


DOS MODE OPTIONS

To change the options Win95 gives you when making a shortcut to an MS-DOS
program/game that requires its own AUTOEXEC.BAT, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\MS-DOSOptions
Create a new key called AUTOEXEC.BAT in any of the directories found in
this key and give it a value. Now you'll be able to use this command in
your existing AUTOEXEC.BAT, to load whatever program the directory that
you are in corresponds to.


ADD NEW TIPS

To edit the Win95 Startup Tips and add your own to the Welcome to Windows
95 Tips Dialog Box that appears at startup, open RegEdit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Tips
Go to the end of the list of existing Tips (Win95 comes with 48 Tips).
To add a new String Value, right click at the end of the list. Select NEW.
Type the next highest number from what's listed directly next to "ab".
Press ENTER. Right click again on the number value you created. Select
MODIFY. In the box marked VALUE DATA, type your new User Tip. Select OK.
Close RegEdit and restart Win95. You will see your new tip the next time
the Welcome to Windows 95 Tip dialog box appears.
At the beginning of the VALUE DATA, you might want to begin the new tip
with a text string like "My Own Win95 Tips:". This way you'll remember
which are the tips you added.


MINANIMATE

To turn off Window Animation (eliminate exploding windows):
Shut off the exploding windows displayed when you minimize/maximize
windows. This makes navigating Win95 a lot faster especially for those who
don't have super fast video cards. Open Regedit, and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
Right-click an empty space in the right pane. Select new/string value.
Name the new value MinAnimate. Double-click on the new string value
(MinAnimate) and click on Modify. Enter 0 for Off or 1 for On and hit OK.
Close Regedit and restart Win95.


UPDATEMODE

If you'd like Win95 to refresh your files/folders constantly, open Regedit,
and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Update
In the right-hand pane right-click on UpdateMode, select Modify, select 01,
and change it to 0. Click OK. Close Regedit and restart Win95.


MOVE STARTUP FOLDER

This Registry editting will move the \Startup folder from the
\Start Menu\Programs folder to a different location, let's say \Windows
(default Win95 files folder). The programs located in the \Startup folder
will still run, but the \Startup folder will be in a different directory
(\Windows in this case).
This helps if you don't have anything in the Startup folder, getting it out
of your way. The folder is just relocated, not deleted!
To do this, open Regedit, and go to: 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
The right-hand window contains the path to the current location of the
Startup folder (the default is: \Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp).
Change this value to \Windows to make \Startup disappear for ever!
This is valid for all Win95's default folders (you can change their
location to anything you want). Example: change Win95's fonts location
from \Windows\Fonts to \Fonts.


DOCUMENTS OFF!

The Documents Menu is a clever idea - it displays a list of the last
dozen-or-so programs and files opened from the Explorer. You can clear the
menu temporarily; the only problem is that there's no way to turn it off
permanently. This can be seen as a lapse in security, and the lack of a
way to turn it off is confusing. There is a way around this:
1. To clear the menu temporarily, right-click on an empty portion of the
taskbar. Select Properties from the menu that appears, and click on the
Start Menu Programs tab. Click Clear to clean out the menu. Note this is
only temporary until you launch another file.
2. To make the documents menu always empty, right-click on the Recycle Bin
on the Desktop, and select Properties from the menu. Under the Global Tab,
select Use one setting for all drives. Turn on the option labeled Do not
move files to the recycle bin. Open RegEdit, and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Folders
In the right pane there should be a list containing one or more of your
"special" folders. If an entry named Recent doesn't already exist, select
New from the Edit menu, and then select String Value. Rename the new item
to "Recent." Next, double-click on Recent, and under Value Data, type
C:\Recycled, press OK and close the Registry. Click on the desktop, and
press F5 to refresh the desktop, so the change takes effect.


ADD NEW SOUNDS

To add sounds to any Win95 application/program: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps
There are two subfolders here: .Default and Explorer.
Open the Apps folder, click New, and then Key from the menu. Type in your
application's filename, without extension (for example Winfile, which is the
executable WITHOUT the EXE extension for File Manager), and click New and Key
from the menu again, in the new Winfile subfolder. Name this new key Open.
Then create a new key with the Winfile subfolder selected and name it Close.
Close the Registry and click on Start, Settings, Control Panel and then
double-click on Sounds. Assign sounds to Winfile's Open and Close functions.
From now on, when you open/close Winfile.exe, the sounds will play.
For each application on your system, you can add sounds to these events:
AppGPFault
Close
Default
Maximize
MenuCommand
MenuPopup
Minimize
Open
RestoreDown
RestoreUp
SystemAsterisk
SystemExclamation
SystemHand
SystemQuestion
Other events may be possible (depending on your application, not all programs
support all these sound events; it depends on the events your particular
application generates). Some of these sound-events can be assigned only to
Windows 95 specific applications (32 bit).
On a 486 or on a slow Pentium (60 or 75MHz) assigning sounds to most of these
events may slow down your system a bit, especially if you choose large and/or
hi-fi quality (stereo, 22K frequency or above) sound files.


REMOVE NETWORK NEIGHBORHOOD

To remove the Network Neighborhood Icon from your Desktop: open Regedit
and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
Click the particular icon you want to remove and choose Delete.


VIDEO REFRESH RATE

To set the video refresh rate: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display\0000\Default
RefreshRate=-1
-1 is the value for automatic refresh rate, any other value corresponds
to the Hz rate. Also if you have loaded more that one video driver you
may have more values under Display (eg: 0001,0002, etc.)


HARD DRIVE THRASHING

To modify the hard drive thrashing: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
The default value is:
Max Cached Icons=4000
It is also recomended to edit your SYSTEM.INI file's [vcache] section
to read (SYSTEM.INI is located in your Windows folder):
[vcache]
MinFileCache=0
MaxFileCache=4096
Create a new [vcache] section if it is not already present in your SYSTEM.INI.
Restart Win95.


MODEM INITIALIZATION STRING

To change the Modem Initialization String: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\currentControlSet\Sevices\Class\Modem\0000\init
and change setting to the new values.


RECEIVE WINDOWS

To set the Default Receive Windows (RWIN): open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\DefaultRcvWindows
and change the number:
DefaultRcvWindows=-2144
The number above is the default setting.


MODEM TIMEOUT

To increase/decrease the Modem Timeout: open Regedit and go to:
HEKY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Modem\XXXX\Settings
Where XXXX is the number of your modem:
Inactivity Timeout=30
Default Inactivity Timeout is set to 30 minutes.


REMOVE PROGRAMS

To remove Programs Listed in Control Panel Add/Remove Programs Section:
Even though you can remove programs this way it doesn't always remove all
traces from the Registry. Open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
and delete the remnants of the program you want to remove.


RUN COMMAND HISTORY

To edit the Recent History of RUN commands: open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU
and add/remove the commands you want.


NEW COMMANDS

NOTE: This tip doesn't work on some system configurations!
      I urge you to backup your Registry files BEFORE trying this tip!
      READ the next topic: "DAVID SPENCER'S NEW RIGHT-CLICK COMMANDS MENU"
      for more info on right-click new commands!
Create a new text file with the lines bellow, name it NEW.REG, and then
double-click on it:
REGEDIT4
; Add the "Open DOS Box" option for files and folders:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\Shell\Open_DOS_Box]
@=3D"Open DOS &Box"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\Shell\Open_DOS_Box\command]
@=3D"COMMAND.COM /K CD %1"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell\Open_DOS_Box]
@=3D"Open DOS &Box"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell\Open_DOS_Box\command]
@=3D"COMMAND.COM"
; Add the "Edit with Notepad" option for unknown files:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell\Edit_with_Notepad]
@=3D"Edit &with Notepad"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell\Edit_with_Notepad\command]
@=3D"notepad.exe %1"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell]
@=3D"Edit_with_Notepad"
Running this registration file, adds one command to the shortcut menu when
you click folders or folder shortcuts:
- Open DOS Box: opens an MS-DOS box set to the directory/folder you
click on.
It also adds two commands to the shortcut menu when you click a file:
- Edit with Notepad: it opens the highlighted file in Notepad;
- Open DOS Box: opens an MS-DOS box set to the directory/folder the file
is in.
"Edit with Notepad" is also set as the default option viewer for all
unknown extensions. From now on, when you double-click on a file with an
unknown extension (not associated in the Registry with a specific
application), it will open in Notepad.


DAVID SPENCER'S NEW RIGHT-CLICK COMMANDS MENU

This very well documented Registry hack has been sent to me (after being
improved several times) by the author, David Spencer.
Many thanks David for all your efforts, and for allowing me to distribute
this valuable Registry trick freely into this text file!
For further info/comments/questions on this topic, please contact the
author at:
dspencer@minyos.its.rmit.EDU.AU
David's complete documentation follows:
******************************************************************************
SAMPLE.INF FILE FOR ADDING A PROGRAM TO THE RIGHT HAND CLICK MENU IN EXPLORER
                              by David Spencer

+----------------------+
| INDEX                |
+----------------------+
.inf file             - the right hand click menu command file
Instructions          - install and un-install instructions
Registry Information  - details of how the Registry is modified
Customising the .inf  - how to customise the .inf file

+----------------------+
| .inf file            |
+----------------------+
; Right Hand Click Menu Command .inf file
;   by David Spencer
;
; - Adds a command to the right hand click menu in Explorer
;
[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"

; Following is the Install information / scripts
[DefaultInstall]
;   add to registry
AddReg = R_Click_Comm.AddReg
;   copy .inf file to \inf directory under the Windows 95 directory
CopyFiles = R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf

[R_Click_CommInstall]
AddReg = R_Click_Comm.AddReg
CopyFiles = R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf

; Following is the UnInstall information / scripts
[DefaultUninstall]
;   remove from registry
DelReg = R_Click_Comm.AddReg
;   delete file from \inf directory under the Windows 95 directory
DelFiles = R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf

[R_Click_Comm_Remove]
DelReg = R_Click_Comm.AddReg
DelFiles = R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf

; Script to Modify Registry
[R_Click_Comm.AddReg]
;   add the command to the registry
HKCR,*\Shell\R_Click_Comm,,,"%PROGRAM_DESC%"
HKCR,*\Shell\R_Click_Comm\command,,,"%PROGRAM_TO_RUN%"
;   add uninstall information to the registry
HKLM,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\R_Click_Comm,DisplayName,,"%PROGRAM_REMOVE_DESC%"
HKLM,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\R_Click_Comm,UninstallString,,"RunDll setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection R_Click_Comm_Remove 4 RCComm.inf"

; Name of .inf file to copy
; !!!!MUST be the SAME as the .inf file run!!!
[R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf]
RCComm.Inf

; Source Disk information (stops annoying request for source disk)
[SourceDisksNames]
55="R_Click_Comm","",1

[SourceDisksFiles]
RCComm.Inf=55

[DestinationDirs]
R_Click_Comm.CopyFiles.Inf = 17

;!!! THIS IS THE ONLY SECTION YOU SHOULD HAVE TO MODIFY !!!
; Strings: display text + program information
[Strings]
;   program to run - ie drive:\path\program.exe
PROGRAM_TO_RUN ="notepad.exe %1"
;   text displayed within the right click menu (& signifies shortcut key)
PROGRAM_DESC = "Edit &with Notepad"
;   text displayed within Add/Remove Programs utility
PROGRAM_REMOVE_DESC = "Edit with Notepad (Remove only)"

+----------------------+
| Install Instructions |
+----------------------+
1.  Using Explorer, right hand click on the .inf file (RCComm.inf) and select
    'Install'
2.  Let the Program run...

+------------------------+
| Uninstall Instructions |
+------------------------+
1.  Open Control Panel
2.  Run Add/Remove Programs applet
3.  Select 'Edit with Notepad (Remove Only)' (or other valid text if you have
    modified it)
4.  Click Add/Remove
5.  Click OK. That's it, you're done.

+----------------------+
| Registry Information |
+----------------------+
The .inf file modifies the registry by changing two basic items:
  - the software settings for file associations
  - the uninstaller information (this allows the uninstall feature!)
The key concepts behind these two changes are as follows:
1.  Changing the file assosciations (found in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT) for the key
    '*' (this means that the command is avaliable for all files, and is
    default for unassociated files) so that the association has a new feature.
    The new feature is a command specified by the 'R_Click_Comm' subkey. The
    default value defines the text displayed
    ie (Default)    "Edit &with Notepad".  The subkey 'command' defines
    the actual command that is executed (ie when the option is selected
    from the right click menu). The default value defines the program /
    command to perform ie (Default)        "notepad.exe %1". The '%1'
    specifies that the program will accept a command line parameter, this
    is feed via explorer, ie when you right hand click and select "Edit with
    Notepad" it sends the currently selected file to notepad as a command
    line parameter. The .inf sets up the following registry structure:
 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT]                   (Default)  (value not set)
  |
  +-[*]                                (Default)  (value not set)
     |
N    +-[shell]                         (Default)  (value not set)
        |
N       +-[R_Click_Comm]               (Default)  "Edit &with Notepad"
           |
N          +-[command]                 (Default)  "notepad.exe %1"
NOTE: Lines starting with 'N' are new lines added by the .inf file.
2.  New uninstall information is added in to allow the command to be
    uninstalled. To achieve this a new key is added in with the information
    regarding the text to display in the Add/Remove Programs applet and the
    program to run. Thus the .inf file sets up the following registry
    structure:
 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE]
  |
  +-[SOFTWARE]
     |
     +-[Microsoft]
        |
        +-[Windows]
           |
           +-[CurrentVersion]
              |
              +-[Uninstall]
                 |
N                +-[R_Click_Comm]     (Default)        (value not set)
                                      DisplayName      "Edit with Notepad 
                                                             (Remove only)"
                                      UninstallString  
      "RunDll setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection R_Click_Comm_Remove 4 RCComm.inf"
NOTE: Lines starting with 'N' are new lines added by the .inf file.

+----------------------+
| Customising the .inf |
+----------------------+
The .inf file may be customised easily to allow you to setup you own command
which can be accessed via a right hand click in explorer. The customising can
be performed on two levels Basic and Involved. The Basic customising requires
no knowledge of the registry while the involved customising requires a
reasonable understanding of the basic registry structure. The two methods are
described below:
1. BASIC:
All customising here revolves around the [Strings] section (at the bottom) of
the .inf file.  Here the three strings: PROGRAM_TO_RUN, PROGRAM_DESC and
PROGRAM_REMOVE_DESC control the basic look, feel and operation of the .inf
right click command to be added.
The PROGRAM_TO_RUN defines the program which will be invoked upon selection of
the new menu item. The form is "drive:\path\program.exe [parameters]" eg
"notepad.exe %1" invokes notepad and passes it the selected file.
The PROGRAM_DESC defines the text to be displayed in the menu. The '&'
character can be used to define a shortcut key to invoke the command once the
menu is displayed. The character following the '&' is the shortcut key. A
little care should be used here, by preference it should proceed a previously
unused character (go to explorer and right click on a file, note the characters
underlined, these are already used). If a previously used character is used
then pressing the key when the menu is displayed will simply move between the
items with the same key, pressing enter when the desired one is selected
activates it.
The PROGRAM_REMOVE_DESC defines the text to be displayed in the Add/Remove
Programs applet (found in Control Panel).  The text "(Remove only)" is
appended to indicate that the selection may only be uninstalled and has no
other options.
That's all there is to it. Note, however, that you may only have one command
by useing the .inf file in this manner, see the Involved section of
customising for details on how to have multiple .inf files and hence commands.
NOTE: do NOT change the name of the .inf file, leave it as RCComm.inf! By
changing the name alone you will make it unable to work correctly!!!
2. EVOLVED:
This is not really that hard just that it helps to have an understanding of
the basic structure of the Registry before you begin. For simplicity's sake I
have only detailed how to setup multiple .inf files thus allowing multiple
commands to be accessed via the right hand click menu. Note also that this
.inf file could be customised to setup new associations automatically for
programs with little modifications (ie set the key to something other than '*'
and also setup a sub key called 'DefalutIcon' with its defalut value set to
the desired icon, see other associations on how to set this up) however, it is
probably easier to use Explorer and goto the 'View' menu, choose 'Options' and
then 'File types'.
Setting up Multiple .inf files:
1) Think of a good name for your command ie Edit_with_UltraEdit
2) Perform a search on the text 'R_Click_Comm' and replace with your new name
   from 1)
3) Think of an appropriate name for the .inf file ie Uedit (only the part
   preceeding the .inf extension since you still need the .inf part)
4) Perform a search on the text 'RCComm' and replace with your new .inf name
   from 3)
5) Modify the [Strings] section (as per the BASIC customising section)
6) Save the file as the name in 3) with a .inf extension (NOTE it is
   important that the names in 4) and 5) are the same or it won't work
   correctly. Now cross your fingers and install it.
That is really all there is to it. You can of course modify all the parameters
but that is a little too complex for now.
*****************************************************************************


NUMLOCK

To have the NumLock key turned ON or OFF upon Win95 startup, open Regedit
and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Microsoft\Input Devices
Double-click on Input Devices, then click New, then Key. Name the new key
Keyboard. Highlight Keyboard, right-click on it, then click New and choose
String Value. Type in NumLock and click OK. Then right-click on NumLock
and click Modify. Type in ON to turn the NumLock key on (or OFF to turn it
off). Close Regedit.


CLEAR DESKTOP ICONS

To clear your desktop of the Inbox or Recycle Bin icons, open Regedit and
go to the:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
folder as if you were navigating Explorer.
NameSpace contains within it two folders that correspond to the icons for
the Inbox and the Recycle Bin. The folder names are ridiculously long and
made up mostly of numbers. But when you select one of the folders, an
object in the right-hand pane tells you if the folder is for the Inbox or
the Recycle Bin. You can then delete the folder corresponding to the icon
that you don't want displayed on your desktop anymore.
You can always get to the Inbox from Start/Programs/Microsoft Exchange and
use the Del key to delete a selected file. If you need to get into the
Recycle Bin or restore files, just go the Recycle Bin folder found on your
primary hard drive's root folder.


NO LOG  (My own trick)

For those of you who installed Microsoft Plus! for Win95, there is a way to
disable the System Agent log update. Open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Plus!\System Agent
In the right-hand pane, highlight "No Log". Right-click on No Log, click
Modify, and change the numeric value from 1 to 0. Close Regedit and
restart Win95.
You can now safely delete the file SAGE.TXT (or whatever you called it)
located in your \Program Files\Plus! folder, if you don't want System
Agent to keep a record (log) of its actions anymore.


NOTEPAD FONT

To change the font displayed in Notepad, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\config\0001\display\settings
Modify fixedfon.fon (the default is vgafix.fon) with the font you want to see
in Notepad documents (and in all other display screens that use this font).
You can try to use any other .FON extension font for that matter.
NOTE: I haven't tried, but it may also work with a .TTF (true type font).
It's very useful if you work with Windows 95's multilanguage support installed
and the chosen font is bilingual. There is one limitation though: you can only
switch from English to any other language only ONCE per session.
Have fun.


NETWORK SERVER

A performance tip for standalone Win95 Desktop Machines:
Open My Computer/Performance/File System, and set your Machine to "Network
Server". This allocates about 40KB of RAM to cache the last accessed 64
directory paths and the last 2729 accessed files.
The "Desktop" setting caches the last 32 folders accessed and the last 677
accessed files, and takes around 16KB of memory.
The extra RAM is well worth the file system boost.
BUT before this could help, you need to do a Registry hack, to make this
really happen.
Microsoft says that these settings get written incorrectly to the Registry
for the "Network Server" and "Mobile Docking" profiles. The settings that
need to be changed are found in the Registry under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\FS Templates
To edit the Registry, run Regedit, and go to the key above.
Click on Server, and in the right-hand pane you'll see two entries called
NameCache and PathCache. Here are the values that you need to enter/modify
for each one of them:
1. For NameCache modify the numeric values to read:
a9 0a 00 00
2. For PathCache modify the numeric values to read:
40 00 00 00
These values are written to the wrong entries by default and you have to
manually fix them to get a boost in performance when setting your machine
to "Network Server". Because these values are written in wrong many people
see no difference in performance when changing to "Network Server". But
this Registry hack fixes it, and when you're done making these changes, go
set your system to "Network Server" and see if you notice any improvement
(you'll need to restart Win95 first for the changes to take effect).