Windows Your Way

Windows 2000: Up Close and Personal

Windows 2000 is almost a year old, and in many ways it hasn't lived up to its hype. But for many business PC users, the OS's melding of Windows NT's stability with Windows 9x's usability makes it the best choice (just hope you can find all the device drivers you need). These tips will help you make Win 2000 the operating system of your PC dreams.

Let Windows Decorate for You

The easiest way to customize a folder is to open a folder window and choose View, Customize This Folder (or right-click in an empty part of the window to choose this command). Click Next and follow the wizard's prompts to make the changes you want. To get one of Microsoft's custom looks (which are new and improved compared with those of previous Windows versions), check Choose or edit an HTML template for this folder.

Customize the Start Menu

Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties. Click the Advanced tab. Use the buttons at the top of this tab to add, remove, and sort items in the Start menu hierarchy. The check boxes at the bottom let you customize the menu to create cascading menus for Control Panel or Printers, view your favorites on the Start menu, or choose either a scrolling or expanding (multipanel) Programs menu, among other features.

Stop the Funky Menu Shuffle

If you don't like having the items on your menus appear and disappear depending on how often you use them, simply right-click on an empty area of the taskbar, choose Properties, uncheck Use Personalized Menus, and click OK.

Put the Eject Button on the Taskbar

If you keep your computer under your desk or in some other hard-to-reach location, you can make opening the CD-ROM tray a bit easier: Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, CD Player. Click the Options button and choose Preferences. Check Show control on taskbar and click OK. Whenever you need to open or close the CD-ROM drawer (to insert or remove any disc, not just audio), right-click the CD icon in the taskbar and choose CD Player, Eject.

Customize Folders in Details View

For any folder in Details view (choose View, Details if necessary), you can add and remove the categories of information displayed. Just right-click a column heading (such as Name or Size) and check or uncheck the items you want to add or remove, respectively.

Make Setup Boot Disks for a Rainy Day

Don't wait for trouble to find you: Get four blank formatted floppy disks, insert your Windows 2000 CD-ROM, choose Browse This CD on the window that appears, open the Bootdisk folder, and click makeboot to launch the creation program. Follow the on-screen prompts, and then create an emergency repair disk (see the tip below). If Windows 2000 is already DOA, take your CD-ROM to another Windows or DOS computer and make your boot and repair disks on that machine.

Create an Emergency Repair Disk

Once you have a way to boot your computer, an emergency repair disk can help you restore damaged start-up files, fix a corrupted Registry, or do other PC rescue chores. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Choose Tools, Create an Emergency Repair Disk. When prompted to do so, check the option to back up the Registry (the backup is stored on your hard disk). Insert a floppy disk, click OK, and follow the prompts on screen. If you have any trouble starting Windows 2000, you can boot up using the Setup boot disks (see the previous tip), then choose the repair option, and insert the repair disk when prompted.

Make Cascading Folder Menus

To see a folder as a menu (with subfolders shown as cascading submenus), drag it to the Start menu button or to any menu within the Start menu.

Keep Secrets Safe

If your disk is formatted with NTFS (the NT/2000 file system), you can encrypt folders on the disk by right-clicking them and choosing Properties. Under the General tab, click Advanced and check Encrypt contents to secure data.