NWA-PCUG 08/2000 NewsLetter Article 18861 N. Hwy 112, Springdale, AR 72762-9303 Handy, Hidden Windows 98 Utilities Compiled by Greg Lenihan, Pikes Peak Computer Application Society, Colorado Springs, Colorado Just before the new year, when W2K concerns were still being hyped, I decided to make the switch from Win95 to Win98 (2nd Edition). Windows 95 still did everything I needed, but I kept reading and hearing about new utilities that were built into the new operating system that looked like good troubleshooting aids. Each of these utilities can be accessed by typing the commands below into the Start -->Run box. System Information Command: msinfo32.exe You can get there the long way by going to Start-->Programs-->Accessories- ->System Tools-->System Information. What you get is information about the hardware and resources used, software components installed as part of Windows, and software currently loaded and running (called the Software Environment). To view any of these areas, click on a plus sign next to the heading shown in outline form. If you look under the Tools menu, you can launch other Win98 utilities, such as the System Configuration Utility, System File Checker, Registry Checker, and Dr. Watson. Want to know how long your system has been running since turned on? Look for the Uptime value in the right panel. System Configuration Utility Command: msconfig.exe This is a handy utility used to modify many of the settings for Win98. Individual lines can be turned on or off in your config.sys, autoexec.bat, system.ini, or win.ini files. You can use it to turn off the annoying Scandisk function if you are forced to shut off your system, and can turn off any program starting at boot up. The command msconfig.exe is found in the c:\Windows\system directory where you can create an icon for it on your desktop. It's a very handy tool for troubleshooting startup problems. System File Checker Command: sfc.exe The System File Checker verifies the integrity of your system files in Win98. Running this file will determine if any of your system files have been replaced or corrupted. It will then prompt you to replace them from your install CD. A nice feature of the utility is that by running it after installing new applications, you can find out what system files that application has installed or changed. Version Conflict Manager Command: vcmui.exe This utility enables you to revert to newer versions of certain files that are replaced when you install or reinstall Win98. An install of Win98 will overwrite DLLs and other files even if they were newer than those installed by Windows. Launching the Version Conflict Manager will display a list of possibly troublesome files that you may then fix with the click of a button. Dr. Watson Command: drwatson.exe This tool can provide clues to software-related problems. Typing drwatson into the Run command box won't launch to a main screen or dialog box like the other utilities. Instead an icon will appear in your system tray. Right-clicking on it will display the user interface. To be effective in troubleshooting, Dr. Watson should be running in the background when you are testing problems. That way you can look at log files generated and maybe get some meaningful error messages about what occurred to your system. This may mean loading it at startup so it can try to interpret why a problem or crash occurred. Hardware Diagnostics Tool Command: hwinfo.exe /ui The Hardware Diagnostic Tool provides the same information as the Microsoft System Information Tool, except it is color coded to display problem areas and potential problems. Bright red displays problems and blue is for potential problems. Open the Run box in the start menu and type it in with the /ui switch. It will not run without the switch. Automatic Skip Driver Agent Command: asd.exe When a software driver prevents the system from booting properly, this tool can help determine which driver is having problems, and how to fix it. Make sure two consecutive restarts were attempted whereby the same driver doesn't load. After typing in the command, a listing of all drivers not loaded should appear along with advice on what to do. Link Check Wizard Command: chklnks.exe This wizard is found on the Windows98 install CD in the directory \Tools\Reskit\Desktop. It scans all of the shorcut files on your system, and checks to see if the link points to an existing application or document. If the associated application or document is not found, it lists that file as a dead link, giving you the option to remove it. Copy Chklinks.exe to your Windows directory and create an icon on your desktop to use it. IP Configuration Tool Command: winipcfg.exe This tool provides the current information about your IP address assigned when you connect to your Internet Service Provider. It includes your subnet mask and the gateway your ISP is using. This information can be helpful in connecting your system to other computers on the Internet. IP Config is found in your c:\Windows directory. Greg Lenihan is the newsletter editor for the Pikes Peak Computer Application Society in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This article is brought to you by (APCUG), an International organization to which this user group belongs.