Windows 98 Second Edition General.txt File Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition README for General Information April 1999 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/windows/readme/win98SE/w98segeneraltxt.asp © Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1999 This document provides complementary or late-breaking information to supplement the Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition documentation. CONTENTS ========== STARTUP PROBLEMS APPLETS LARGE DISK SUPPORT (FAT32) SYSTEM TOOLS DISKS AND CD-ROMs DRIVERS MS-DOS MODE MS-DOS MEMORY MANAGEMENT MS-DOS CODE PAGE ONTRACK SYSTEMS DISK MANAGER PAN-EUROPEAN - KNOWN ISSUES USING ACCESSIBILITY SHORTCUTS IN HELP KNOWN ISSUES WITH HTML HELP DOCUMENTATION UPDATES PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT NEWSGROUPS KNOWN ISSUES STARTUP PROBLEMS -------------------------------- There is a compatibility issue with some PCI-based display adapters. If you have a PCI-based computer and your computer stops responding at any of the following times: On the first startup after installing your PCI display adapter In safe mode Startup When your display is set to 640x480, 16 colors replace the Vga.drv file by copying: \Drivers\Display\Vga\Vga.drv to your Windows 98\System folder If you are installing Windows 98 Second Edition from a CD-ROM, copy Drivers\Display\OldVga\Vga.vxd to your Windows 98\System folder. If you are installing Windows 98 Second Edition from floppy disks, contact Microsoft Technical Support to get this updated file. Computers with Cyrix CPU... Micron Computers... Undefined Dynalink Error If you receive an "undefined dynalink" error, it's likely that a program you are running uses an earlier version of QuickTime that conflicts with the current version. To resolve this problem, delete the QuickTime files from the program's folder: Restart your computer. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders. In the Named box, type the following: qt*.*, *.qtc Make sure that the Look In box specifies drive C, and then click Find Now. Delete all the QuickTime files in the program's folder. Be sure not to delete any QuickTime files in the \Windows or \Windows\System folders. Restart your computer. Contact Apple for information about the latest version of QuickTime, or download the program from the Apple Web site at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/. System Detection Error - BIOS Could Lead to Data Loss If your computer displays the following message: System Detection Your computer uses a BIOS that could lead to data loss if you run Windows 98 Second Edition. Please update the BIOS before installing Windows 98 Second Edition. For more information, contact your computer manufacturer. You can still install Windows 98 Second Edition by following the procedure below. NOTE: Microsoft takes no responsibility for any damage that may result from this operation. Copy the contents of the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM (or floppy disk 1) to your hard disk. At the Command prompt, type: extract precopy2.cab msdet.inf At the command prompt, type: edit msdet.in On the Search menu, select Find. In the Find What box, type: [BadDSBios] Select Find Now. Insert a semicolon before each of the two lines following the [BadDSBios] heading. Save your changes, and then run Setup again. Dell Latitude XP Portable Computers with Docking Stations... APPLETS Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 Windows 98 Second Edition includes most of the functionality from Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95. If you have the Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 CD, you can install the Pinball game on Windows 98 Second Edition using the pinball.inf in the \tools\mtsutils directory on your Windows 98 Second Edition CD. Briefcase: Using with User Profiles Enabled If you have Briefcase installed and you enable user profiles (for multiple users on the same computer), Briefcase does not copy to each profile correctly. To work around this problem: After you enable user profiles, delete My Briefcase from the desktop. Right-click anywhere on the Desktop, click New, and then click Briefcase. HyperTerminal: Known Problems and General Information If a session is already open, HyperTerminal does not recognize that a PC Card modem is inserted. When it receives a file, HyperTerminal cannot determine whether the disk is full. To use the CTRL key combinations for Copy and Paste in HyperTerminal, use Windows keys instead of Terminal keys. To change this setting, in HyperTerminal, right-click the file, click Properties, and then click Settings or right click on a connectoid and select the Settings tab. In File Transfer, HyperTerminal does not send files with attributes marked as System or Hidden. If a Windows 3.1 TAPI service provider is already installed on your system when you upgrade to Windows 98 Second Edition, you might experience problems with HyperTerminal. To work around these problems, double-click Telephony in Control Panel and remove and then reinstall the TAPI service provider. ScanDisk: Special Handling of Characters from DifferentCode Pages If you have created or named files or folders while using different code pages, ScanDisk may report errors about these files or the folders they reside in. Open the ScanDisk Advanced dialog box and make sure the check box for Check files for invalid file names is cleared. Turning off this option may inhibit the program’s ability to detect or repair seriously damaged folders. LARGE DISK SUPPORT (FAT32) Introduction Windows 98 Second Edition includes support for an enhanced version of the FAT file system, FAT32, that supports drives up to 2 terabytes (approximately 2,000 GB). Italso allocates space on the drive in smaller units (called clusters) than did earlier versions of FAT, resulting in more efficient use of space on the drive. This section addresses some of the known issues with FAT32 and answers some of the questions you might have. Compatibility FAT32 is designed to be fully compatible with existing computers and programs designed to run on earlier versions of MS-DOS and Windows. However, some older disk utilities may need to be updated in order to work with FAT32 drives. The system tools contained with Windows 98 Second Edition, including ScanDisk, Backup, and Disk Defragmenter, fully support FAT32 drives. FAT32 drives cannot be compressed by using DriveSpace, however. In addition, operating systems other than Windows 95 version 4.00.950 B, Windows 98, or Windows 2000 are unable to access information stored on FAT32 drives. This includes the original version of Windows 95, Windows NT version 4.0 and earlier, and previous versions of MS-DOS and Windows. Windows 98 Second Edition does support accessing FAT32 drives in MS-DOS mode. In addition, FAT32 drives can be shared over a network and accessed by remote computers in the same way as older-style FAT drives, even if the remote computers don't support FAT32. Known Problems Running Interlink on a FAT32 drive If you are running Interlink as a server on a FAT32 drive, all connections and inquiries (such as DIR) result in the following error message: "File allocations table bad, Drive X." Also, the Interlink "manager" shows the incorrect total drive size. This problem does not occur on FAT16 drives. To gain access to your FAT32 server, start your computer in protect mode with Interlink running. Incorrect Free Disk Space Reported by Programs Programs not developed specifically for Windows 98 might be unable to report free space accurately on large hard disks that use FAT32. Most older applications cannot display free or total disk space of more than 2 GB. These older programs will typically only report up to approximately 2 GB free, when more disk space is available. When the free disk space drops below 2 GB free, these programs will report the free space correctly. Save to File (Hibernate) Feature May Be Incompatible with FAT32 On computers containing a BIOS made by Phoenix Technologies, you might not be able to use the Save-to-File feature if your primary (boot) drive is formatted using FAT32. If your PhDISK utility is earlier than version 5.0, obtain an updated version of the utility and an updated ROM BIOS from your computer manufacturer in order to use a Save to Disk file. With older versions of the ROM BIOS, your computer may be unable to start if it tries to read a Save-to-Disk file from a FAT32 drive. If this occurs, disable the Save-to-File feature in your ROM BIOS. This problem would not occur on a computer that uses a disk partition to store the Save-to-Disk data. Ontrack Systems Disk Manager If you use the Ontrack Systems Disk Manager program on a computer with a FAT32 drive, there might be a long pause when you start your computer. It is also possible that the drive will be set to run in compatibility mode. If you use version 7.0x, you can avoid this pause by using the /L=0 option with Disk Manager: Start your computer, and then run Disk Manager. Click Maintenance, and then click Update Dynamic Drive Overlay. Add /L=0 to any other options that are already present. Save the settings, and then restart your computer. If you are running an earlier version of Disk Manager and you want to use FAT32, you should update to version 7.04 or later and use the /L=0 switch. V Communications System Commander... Iomega Jaz Tools May Be Incompatible with FAT32... SyQuest Technology, Inc., Device Drivers Older versions of the Squatdvr.sys and Sqdriver.sys device drivers are incompatible with this version of Windows 98... Questions and Answers Q: How do I tell if a drive is a FAT32 drive? A: In My Computer, right-click the icon that represents your hard disk, and then click Properties. On the General tab, your type of drive is shown in the upper part of the tab, by the label File system. If you have a FAT 32 drive, File system: FAT32 is displayed. If you have a FAT 16 drive, File system: FAT is displayed. Q: How do I enable FAT32? A: If you obtained this version of Windows 98 with a new computer system, it may already be using the FAT32 disk format. If not, or if you add a new hard disk to your computer and you want to use the FAT32 file system, use the Drive Converter (FAT32) tool by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools and then clicking Drive Converter. Q: Is FAT32 faster than earlier versions of FAT? A: FAT32, in conjunction with Memory Manager improvements and the application launch time feature of Disk Defragmenter can significantly improve your system performance. However, FAT32 drives may be significantly slower on disk-intensive operations when your computer is running in MS-DOS mode or when you are running Windows 98 Second Edition in safe mode. If you use MS-DOS mode with FAT32 drives, you may find that performance is improved significantly if you load the Smart Drive disk-caching program. Q: Can I use disk compression on FAT32 drives? A: No. DriveSpace 3 does not support compressing FAT32 drives. SYSTEM TOOLS If you create a Briefcase and then compress a drive that contains files to which it refers, the Briefcase's association to the files is lost. The files still exist, but you will need to reassociate them with the Briefcase. If you use Interlink, do not use ScanDisk, DriveSpace, or the Disk Defragmenter to operate on a drive on a remote computer. AT&T Mail, versions 2.5 and earlier, installs a TSR that prevents disk utilities from repairing disks. If you are running one of these earlier versions, contact AT&T for information about their latest release. DISKS AND CD-ROMs The NEC 260GW ATAPI CD-ROM that shipped with older Gateway computers is now supported through protect-mode drivers. In order for protect mode support to work, the real-mode driver needs to be loaded in the Config.sys file. The NEC 3X, firmware version 2.2, can give bad data and is not supported by Windows 98 Second Edition. DRIVERS The Windows Driver Library (WDL) is included in the Drivers folder on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM. EZ-Drive Windows 98 Second Edition supports EZ-Drive through the protected-mode IDE driver. Aspidisk.sys If your computer uses the Aspidisk.sys device driver in the Config.sys file to provide MS-DOS-mode support for a SCSI disk, version 4.01 or later of Aspidisk.sys is required to support disks formatted with FAT32. A FAT32-compatible version of this driver is available from Adaptec. It is also available in the Microsoft Windows Driver Library, which is in the Drivers folder on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM, or you can download it from various online services. Arco AcideJL If you are using this adapter, the driver AcideJL.386 causes a conflict if Windows 98 Second Edition is installed from earlier versions of Windows. However, you can install Windows 98 Second Edition from MS-DOS. Syquest Sqatdrv.sys and Sqdriver.sys Drivers The Sqatdrv.sys driver may cause systems containing FAT32 drives to stop responding during startup. Remove this driver from the Config.sys file if you are using FAT32 drives. Versions of these drivers that are compatible with FAT32 boot drives are on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM in the Drivers folder. MS-DOS MODE The MS-DOS Share program (Share.exe) is not included in Windows 98 Second Edition. Share support is provided to all programs running under Windows 98 Second Edition, but programs that require share support cannot be run in MS-DOS mode if you are using this version of Windows 98. MS-DOS MEMORY MANAGEMENT To maximize the amount of memory available to MS-DOS programs, add the following line to your Config.sys file: buffers=13 On most computers, this command frees up approximately 16K of conventional or upper memory for use by MS-DOS programs or device drivers. However, this command reduces the number of MS-DOS buffers, so it might adversely affect disk performance when your computer is running in MS-DOS mode. MS-DOS CODE PAGE Depending on the country selected, Windows 98 Second Edition automatically uses MS-DOS code page 437 or 850. If you need to use a different code page, such as 861 or 865, use the CHDOSCP.EXE utility program. This program is included in the Windows 98 Resource Kit and the CD-ROM version of Windows 98 Second Edition. It is also available from the Microsoft Download Service or from your local Microsoft subsidiary. ONTRACK SYSTEMS DISK MANAGER If you use the Ontrack Systems Disk Manager on a computer that starts from a FAT32 drive, you might experience a long pause at startup. You might also find that the drive will be set to run in compatibility mode. With version 7.0x, you can use the /L=0 option with Disk Manager to avoid this pause. If you are running an earlier version of Disk Manager, update to version 7.04 and use the /L=0 switch to use FAT32. PAN-EUROPEAN: KNOWN ISSUES There are certain characters used within the Cyrillic alphabet that cause problems when you use them in file names... File names using these characters also cause problems under the following conditions and should be avoided... Czech Microsoft Excel 97... Calling Between Republics in the Former Soviet Union... Extended (NLS) Character Support in Hardware Profiles Multiple hardware profiles can be loaded on a Windows 98 Second Edition system using the Hardware Profile tab in the System Properties dialog box. When you name the profiles, do not use extended characters. Otherwise, the text appears in the wrong font when the system starts. Then you won't be able to read the Profile Name in the Configuration Selection list during start up. For example, the messages you see for the Configuration Selection list would look similar to those shown below. Starting Windows 98... Windows cannot determine what configuration your computer is in. Select one of the following: Original Configuration None of the above Enter your choice. Although you will be unable to read the text, you can press the appropriate number and the system will continue if you know which choice you want. This problem is intentionally there, due to the differences between the Windows Code Page and the OEM Code Page. This problem previously existed in Windows 95 and is mentioned here for clarification purposes. NOTE: Review the Intl.txt file on your Windows 98 Second Edition CD for more information about Pan-European regional settings. USING ACCESSIBILITY SHORTCUTS IN HELP The following keyboard shortcuts can be used for navigation, selection, and other functions in Windows 98 Second Edition online Help. Some of these keyboard shortcuts are also applicable throughout Windows 98. For more information about using Windows 98 Second Edition accessibility features, visit the Microsoft Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/enable. ALT+SPACEBAR Use this shortcut to display the System menu. Use the arrow keys to choose a command, and then press ENTER. ALT+F4 Use this shortcut to close Help. ALT+TAB Use this shortcut to switch between Windows Help and other open windows. ALT+LEFT ARROW In the Contents tab, use this shortcut to move to the book icon immediately preceding the selected topic. Use the DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW to select a topic. ALT+RIGHT ARROW Use this shortcut to move forward one topic in the table of contents. ALT+L In the Search tab, use this shortcut to list any Help topics associated with the words you typed in the "Type in the keyword to find box." You can press ENTER to list the topics also. ALT+O Use this shortcut to display the Options menu. ALT+O, and then press T Use this shortcut to display or hide the left pane of the Help window. ALT+O, and then press B Use this shortcut to return to the previously viewed topic (if there is one). ALT+O, and then press F Use this shortcut to move to the next topic previously viewed (if there is one). ALT+O, and then press P Use this shortcut to display the Print dialog box from within online Help. Press the TAB key and arrow keys to move within the dialog box, and press ESC to close the dialog box without printing. ALT+O, and then press R Use this shortcut to refresh the topic currently displayed. ALT+O, and then press L Use this shortcut to locate the current topic in the table of contents. NOTE: Not all topics are included in the table of contents. ALT+P Use this shortcut to go to the topic list in the Search tab. ALT+C Use this shortcut to display the Contents tab. ALT+I Use this shortcut to display the Index tab. ALT+S Use this shortcut to display the Search tab. CTRL+END Use this shortcut to go to the end of the displayed topic. CTRL+HOME Use this shortcut to go to the beginning of the displayed topic. CTRL+C Use this shortcut to copy selected text so that you can paste it in another file using a text editor such as Notepad. CTRL+V Use this shortcut to paste copied text into a file by using a text editor such as Notepad. CTRL+A Use this shortcut to highlight the text in the right pane. SHIFT+F10 Use this shortcut to display the shortcut menu on the Windows desktop. SHIFT+TAB Use this shortcut to switch between the term you selected in the Index tab and the Display button. TAB Use this shortcut to move to topics in the table of contents, index, search results, and all links in the displayed topic. BACKSPACE In the table of contents, use this shortcut to return to the book icon immediately preceding the currently selected book icon. ESC Use this shortcut to close dialog boxes and menus throughout Windows 98 Second Edition. ENTER Use this shortcut throughout Windows 98 Second Edition to execute the requested command, such as opening a topic or displaying a list of topics. UP ARROW Use this shortcut to move up one topic in the table of contents, index, and search list. DOWN ARROW Use this shortcut to move down one topic in the table of contents, index, and search list. PAGE UP Use this shortcut to move up one page in the index, a search list, or the table of contents. PAGE DOWN Use this shortcut to move down one page in the index, a search list, or the table of contents. NOTE: For more information on shortcuts that you can use in Windows 98 Second Edition, on the Index tab, type Shortcuts, keyboard. KNOWN ISSUES WITH HTML HELP Access Keys When you use an access key (the underlined letter in a menu name) in some applications, the access key remains active when you are in the Help window for that application. Because the access key is still active, you can't type the letter directly in the text box in the Search or Index tabs. To work around this problem, type the information you want to search for in Notepad, and then paste the word(s) into the text box in the Index or Search tabs. NOTE: The specific access keys vary, depending on the application. High Contrast To use High Contrast appearance schemes, set them using the Accessibility Options control panel, rather than the Display control panel. Jump to URL Error If you minimize an HTML Help (*.chm) window, right-click its taskbar button, and then click the Jump to URL command, the program freezes. To resolve this problem, make sure the Help application button on the taskbar is selected, and then press ENTER until the Help window opens again. DOCUMENTATION UPDATES Adding a Dutch (Belgian) Keyboard Layout... Additional Windows 98 Files Available If you are installing Windows 98 Second Edition using floppy disks, you can increase your operating system functionality by downloading additional files from the Microsoft Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com. These files include: Updates and drivers Files that are shipped with the Windows 98 Second Edition CD version but not with the floppy disk version. These files are compressed and self-extracting. After you download the files that you want, double-click each file icon to extract the file(s) that it contains. PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT NEWSGROUPS The following newsgroups offer peer-to-peer support for this release: microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.connect_wizard For Internet Connection wizard issues microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4 For general Internet Explorer 4.0 issues microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.feedback Feedback about Internet Explorer 4.0 microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.setup Installation issues/downloading Internet Explorer 4.0 from the Internet to install microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.outlookexpress About mail and news and Outlook Express KNOWN ISSUES Internet Connection wizard does not automatically configure ISDN devices The Internet Connection wizard does not automatically configure ISDN devices. However, you can use an ISDN to automatically get a new Internet account using the wizard if your ISDN device is correctly configured before starting the wizard. Microsoft Magnifier Microsoft Magnifier is intended to provide a minimum level of functionality for users with slight visual impairments. Most users with visual impairments will need a magnification utility program with higher functionality for daily use. For a list of Windows-based magnification utilities, visit the following Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/enable Microsoft Office 97 Service Releases (patches) If Windows 95 and Office 97 are installed on your computer and you then upgrade to Windows 98 Second Edition, the Office 97 Service Release 1 patch cannot be installed on your system. However, if you install the Office 97 Service Release 1 patch before you upgrade to Windows 98 Second Edition, the patch should work correctly. The Office 97 Service Release 2 patch has been released and can be used on both Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems. The latest Office 97 Service Release patches can be found at: http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/9798/sr1fact.aspx Networks Not Supported in Windows 98 Second Edition... Processor Type Reported in System Control Information reported in the System Control Panel reflects the processor type being used by Windows, and is not a guarantee of the actual make/type of processor installed in your system. Newer processors that are released after Windows 98 Second Edition may not be properly identified. Samsung USB Keyboard with Hub... Support for Lexmark MarkVision and Custom Printer Drivers Some early versions of MarkVision and the Lexmark Custom Printer drivers are incompatible with Windows 98 Second Edition. To avoid a problem with your system, Windows 98 Second Edition disables these components when you upgrade from Windows 95 if you currently have LEXBCE version 1.03 or earlier. If you have a version later than LEXBCE 1.03, Lexmark software works correctly on Windows 98 Second Edition. To determine which version of LEXBCE you have, use Windows Explorer. Go to your \Windows\System subdirectory. Right-click LEXBCE.DLL, and then click Properties. Click the Version tab, and then locate the File version information. If needed, you can obtain a newer version of the software from the Lexmark Technical Support Center or on the World Wide Web at: http://www.lexmark.com. Vines16... Windows Device Manager Video Capture Devices and Video for Windows Applications Applications that use the Video for Windows 1.1 (VFW) interfaces also use drivers that conform to the VfW 1.1 driver interfaces. However, with the new Windows Device Manager (WDM) video capture interfaces in Windows 98 Second Edition, applications can no longer use the VfW interfaces to directly communicate with these WDM-based devices. Windows 98 Second Edition includes a software layer that translates VfW 1.1 interfaces into WDM video capture interfaces. This translation software works only for video capture devices on external busses (USB and 1394) in Windows 98 Second Edition. Analog capture devices (such as PCI cards with video decoder chips that use WDM drivers) cannot use this translation software. The original VfW drivers for these analog capture devices will continue to work but they cannot be used in combination with the newer WDM drivers. An updated version of this translation software is available at http://www.microsoft.com/support. For information, search for "Video for Windows WDM". Windows for Workgroups 3.x using Microsoft Mail and Schedule+ 1.0 When you upgrade from Windows for Workgroups 3.x to Windows 98 Second Edition, the 16-bit Microsoft Mail client and Schedule+ 1.0 continue to function. If Microsoft Mail is corrupted, install Windows Messaging Update. You can use Windows Messaging Update to send and receive e-mail through the Workgroups Postoffice (WGPO) or Microsoft Mail Postoffice on your LAN. The Windows Messaging Update (exupdusa.exe) is located in the \tools\oldwin95\exchange folder on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD. After you install and configure Windows Messaging Update to connect to your post office, launch Windows Messaging, and then on the File menu, click Import Folder. You can then import your Microsoft Mail message file (*.mmf) into Windows Messaging. NOTE: Installation of the Windows Messaging Update disables the group scheduling functionality of Schedule+ 1.0. Digital IDs If you uninstall Windows 98 Second Edition, any certificates you obtained after installation will be removed. To avoid this, you can contact the certificate provider to obtain another certificate, or you can save the certificate and use it with Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later in Windows 95 or in the earlier version of Windows 98. To save a certificate before you uninstall Windows: In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options, and then click the Content tab. Click Certificates, and then click Export. Last Reviewed: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 © 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.