Windows Tips     

Increase your Windows enjoyment and productivity with our  tips!



Find and Install New Screensavers

Adding new screensavers to Windows is easy.  Simply copy them
(most have .scr extensions) to your Windows directory.

To try them out, right click your desktop, and choose properties, then
the screensaver tab. Under Screen Saver, use the down arrow to select
a screensaver, and click preview to preview it. When you touch your
your keyboard or mouse, the preview will end.

Some screensavers may have a setup which you can customize. Just
click the setup button in order to access it.

Be sure to set the time delay for your screensaver. If less than 5 minutes,
the screensaver is likely to interrupt your work. Try 10 or 15 minutes.

Where do you get screensavers for Windows? Here is a list of links
to freeware or shareware Windows screensavers:

Windows Screensaver Links

Galt Screensavers     http://www.galttech.com/ssheaven.shtml
Screensaver.com     http://www.screensaver.com/
Screensavers.com     http://www.screensavers.com/
Cnet Download.com Screensavers     http://www.download.com/2001-2257-0.html?tag=dir


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Troubleshoot your bootup process
(and find out which drivers failed to load etc.)

Ever experience strange problems in Windows, and notice error
messages (driver failed etc.) appear when you boot, but don't know how
to slow down the screen to read them? You may want to read the messages
in order to begin the troubleshoot and repair process - perhaps to discover
which driver is corrupt and failing to load, so that you can replace it.

Here's how to view your initial booting messages:
1) Restart Windows.
2) As soon as you get the loading Windows message, press your
    F8 key. You will see a screen with a number of options. In most
    cases, create a bootlog.txt file will be option #2.
3) Windows will load and start.
4) Look in your root directory. You will find a bootlog.txt file with
    the current time and date, and also a bootlog.prv file (the previous
    bootlog.txt file) which you can use to compare.

Reading the bootlog.txt file:
Successful loading of files (often drivers) will read like this:
[00173A5B] Dynamic load device serenum.vxd
[00173A5C] Dynamic load success serenum.vxd
[00173A5D] Dynamic load device serenum.vxd
[00173A5E] Dynamic load success serenum.vxd

Unsuccessful loading will read will like:
[00173639] Loading Vxd = ndis2sup.vxd
[0017363C] LoadFailed = ndis2sup.vxd
[001736A6] Loading Vxd = vshare
[001736A7] LoadFailed = vshare
[001737D0] Dynamic load device naapi.vxd
[001737E2] Dynamic load failed naapi.vxd : [001737E4] File not found

What to do now? 
Further troubleshooting is outside the scope of this Windows  tip (and
the author's expertise!). But at least you know where the problem is. At
this point, you can
1) check the Windows Resource kit for information on drivers etc.
     that are failing to load;
2) do a search for the files that indicate problems, and reinstall them
    from your original installation disks;
3) go to Windows support forums or free technical support sites online
    and ask for further help!

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