The Secret Guide to Computers: Windows 95, 98, & Me

Starting

Microsoft has improved Windows.

In 1995, Microsoft invented Windows 95.

In 1998, Microsoft invented Windows 98.

In 1999, Microsoft invented Windows 98 Second Edition (Windows 98 SE).

In 2000, Microsoft invented Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me).

Windows 98 SE and Windows Me are both very similar to Windows 98. The differences are miniscule. That’s why Microsoft charges just $60 to upgrade from Windows 98 to Windows Me. Most industry experts laugh at “Windows Me” and say the upgrade is worth even less than that.

Why did Microsoft’s chairman, Bill Gates, call it “Windows Me”? Cynics say Windows Me stands for “I should have called it Windows 98 Third Edition, but I called it Windows Me so you’ll give more money to Me.”

Make sure your computer has enough RAM:

Windows 3.1 requires 1M of RAM to run at all, 8M to run well.

Windows 95 requires 4M of RAM to run at all, 16M to run well.

Windows 98&SE require 16M of RAM to run at all, 32M to run well.

Windows Me requires 32M of RAM to run at all, 64M to run well.

Windows Me price

Windows Me lists for $209. When you buy a new computer, Windows Me is usually included by the computer’s manufacturer at no extra charge.

If your computer has Windows 95, you can upgrade to Windows Me for $109. If your computer has Windows 98 or Windows 98SE, you can upgrade to Windows Me for just $60.

Those prices are from Microsoft; add shipping and tax. Some discount dealers charge $10 less.

What’s in this chapter

This chapter explains Windows 95 and 98. If you’re using Windows 98 SE or Windows Me, follow my instructions for Windows 98, which is similar.

Alternative chapters

If you plan to keep using an ancient version of Windows (such as Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1, or Windows 3.11), turn to the next chapter instead, which is called “Windows 3.1 & 3.11”. If you’re not using Windows at all — if you’re using just MS-DOS or a Mac — turn to the MS-DOS or Mac chapters.

Turn on

When your computer contains Windows 98 (or 98 SE or 95 or Me), here’s how to start using it.

If you have a printer, make sure a cable runs from it to the computer.

Turn on the computer, without any disks in the floppy drives; then immediately turn on the printer. (For details, read “Prepare to operate” on page 94. For free help, phone me anytime at 603-666-6644.)

The computer says “Microsoft Windows 98” (or “Microsoft Windows 95” or something similar).

If the computer says “Add New Hardware Wizard” (for example, because it detected that you attached a new printer), press the ENTER key several times (typically 5 times), until the computer stops saying “Add New Hardware Wizard”.

Eventually, the screen’s bottom left corner says “Start”.

Position the mouse

Look at the computer’s mouse. The mouse’s tail is a cable that runs from the mouse to the computer. The area where the tail meets the mouse is called the mouse’s ass.

The mouse’s underside — its belly — has a hole in it, and a ball in the hole.

Put the mouse on your desk and directly in front of your right arm. Make the mouse lie flat (so its ball rubs against the desk). Make the mouse face you so you don’t see its ass.

Move the arrow

Move the mouse across your desk. As you move the mouse, remember to keep it flat and facing you.

On the screen, you’ll see an arrow, which is called the mouse pointer. As you move the mouse, the arrow moves also. If you move the mouse to the left, the arrow moves to the left. If you move the mouse to the right, the arrow moves to the right. If you move the mouse toward you, the arrow moves down. If you move the mouse away from you, the arrow moves up.

Practice moving the arrow by moving the mouse. Remember to keep the mouse facing you at all times.

If you want to move the arrow far and your desk is small, move the mouse until it reaches the desk’s edge; then lift the mouse off the desk, lay the mouse gently on the middle of the desk, and rub the mouse across the desk in the same direction as before.

Click on Start

The most important part of the arrow is its tip, which is called the hot spot. Move the arrow so its hot spot (tip) is in the middle of the word “Start”. When you do that, you’re pointing at the word “Start”.

On the top of the mouse, you’ll see 2 or 3 rectangular buttons you can press. The main button is the one on the left. Tapping it is called clicking. So to click, tap the left button.

While you’re pointing at the word “Start”, click (by tapping the left button). That’s called clicking “Start”.

When you click “Start”, Windows 98 shows you this Start menu:

Windows Update

Programs 4

Favorites 4

Documents 4

Settings 4

Find 4

Help

Run

Shut Down

(Windows 95 omits “Windows Update” and “Favorites”.)

Shut Down

On that Start menu, the bottom choice says “Shut Down”. Whenever you finish using Windows 98 (or 95), click “Shut Down” (by pointing at “Shut Down” and then tapping the left mouse button).

Practice that now! Click “Shut Down”.

In Windows 98, the computer asks, “What do you want the computer to do?” (In Windows 95, the computer asks instead, “Are you sure?”)

Press the ENTER key. Wait while the computer tidies the info on your hard disk.

Then, if your computer is modern, it will turn its own power off.. If your computer is older, the computer will say “It’s now safe to turn off your computer” and wait for you to turn it off.

Accessories menu

Make the Start menu appear on the screen.

In that menu, notice that the word “Programs” has the symbol “4” next to it. That symbol means that if you choose “Programs” from the Start menu, you’ll see another menu.

Try it: point at the word “Programs”. Windows 98 shows you this Programs menu:

Accessories 4

Internet Explorer 4

Online Services 4

StartUp 4

MS-DOS Prompt

Windows Explorer

(Windows 95 sometimes omits “Internet Explorer”, and it says “Microsoft Exchange” and “The Microsoft Network” instead of “Online Services”.) If you bought extra programs, the menu mentions them too.

From that menu, choose “Accessories”, by pointing at it. Windows 98 shows you this Accessories menu:

Communications 4

Entertainment 4

Games 4

System Tools 4

Calculator

Imaging

Notepad

Paint

WordPad

(Windows 95 says “Multimedia” instead of “Entertainment”, says “Fax” and “HyperTerminal” and “Phone Dialer” instead of “Communications”, and omits “Imaging”.)

Calculator

The accessories menu includes a “Calculator”. To use the calculator, get the accessories menu onto the screen (by clicking “Start” then “Programs” then “Accessories”) and then click “Calculator”. You’ll see the Calculator window, containing a picture of a pocket calculator.

How to calculate

To compute 42+5, click the calculator’s 4 key (by using the mouse to point at the 4 key and then clicking), then click 2, then +, then 5, then =. The calculator will show the answer, 47.

Instead of using the mouse, you can do that calculation a different way, by using the computer’s keyboard. Try it! On the computer’s keyboard, tap the 4 key, then the 2 key, then (while holding down the SHIFT key) the + key, then 5, then =. The calculator will show 47.

Try fancier calculations, by pressing these calculator buttons:

Button Meaning

+ plus

- minus

* times

/ divided by

= total

. decimal point

C clear

Backspace backspace

If you’re using Windows 95 (instead of 98), the backspace button is labeled “Back” (instead of “Backspace”).

Standard versus scientific

You can choose two kinds of calculators. A standard calculator is small and cute: it does just arithmetic. A scientific calculator is big and imposing: it includes extra buttons, so you can do advanced math.

The first time you (or your colleagues) ask for the calculator, the computer shows a standard calculator (small and cute). If you want the calculator to be scientific instead, choose Scientific from the View menu. (To do that, click the word “View”, then click the word “Scientific”.) Then you’ll see extra buttons, such as these:

Button Meaning

x^2 squared

x^3 cubed

n! factorial

pi pi (which is 3.1415926535897932384626433832795)

If you click the 7 button and then say “squared” (by pressing the x^2 button), the computer will multiply 7 by itself and say 49 (which is called “7 squared”). If you click the 7 button and then say “cubed” (by pressing the x^3 button), the computer will do “7 times 7 times 7” and say 343 (which is called “7 cubed”). If you click the 7 button and then say “factorial” (by pressing the n! button), the computer will multiply together all the numbers up to 7 (1 times 2 times 3 times 4 times 5 times 6 times 7) and say 5040 (which is called “7 factorial”).

If you’re using Windows 98 and click the pi button,

the computer will say 3.1415926535897932384626433832795.

If you’re using Windows 95, the pi button is capitalized (so it’s labeled “PI”)

and it’s less accurate: it says PI is 3.14159265359.

The scientific calculator also contains buttons that help you handle big exponents, logarithms, trigonometry, statistics, hexadecimal numbers, and assembly-language programming. I’ll explain the mathematical concepts behind those buttons later, on page 388 (exponents), 389 (logarithms), 402 (trigonometry), 565 (hexadecimal numbers), and 575 (assembly-language programming). If you’re adventurous, just go push buttons and see what happens: no matter which button you press, the computer won’t blow up!

After making the calculator be scientific, you can make it become standard again by choosing Standard from the View menu.

In the Calculator window’s top right corner, a square button has an X on it. That’s called the X button (or the close button).

When you finish using the Calculator window, click that button. It closes the Calculator window, so the Calculator window disappears.

WordPad

When you buy Windows 95 or 98, you get a word-processing program free! That word-processing program is called WordPad. It’s one of the Windows accessories. To use it, get the accessories menu onto the screen (by clicking “Start” then “Programs” then “Accessories”) and then click “WordPad”. You’ll see the WordPad window.

In the window’s top right corner, you see the X button. Next to the X button is the resize button. Clicking the resize button changes the window’s size.

Try clicking the resize button: see the window’s size change! Try clicking the resize button again: see the window’s size change again!

If the window is small, clicking the resize button makes the window become huge so it consumes the whole screen. If the window is huge and consumes the whole screen, clicking the resize button makes the window become small.

If the window consumes the whole screen, the window is said to be maximized. If the window is smaller, the window is said to be restored to a small size.

Click the resize button if necessary, so that the WordPad window consumes the whole screen (and is maximized).

Now that the WordPad window consumes the whole screen, you can easily do word processing: you can easily type words and sentences. Try it! Type whatever sentences you wish to make up. For example, try typing a memo to your friends, or a story, or a poem. Be creative! Whatever you type is called a document.

Use the keyboard

Read the section called “Examine the keyboard”, which is on page 94. Here are more hints that will help you type.…

Capitals To capitalize a letter of the alphabet, type that letter while holding down the SHIFT key. (One SHIFT key is next to the Z key; the other SHIFT key is next to the ? key. Each SHIFT key has an up-arrow on it.)

To capitalize a whole passage, tap the CAPS LOCK key, then type the passage. The computer will automatically capitalize the passage as you type it. When you finish typing the passage, tap the CAPS LOCK key again: that tells the computer to stop capitalizing.

BACKSPACE key If you make a mistake, press the BACKSPACE key. That makes the computer erase the last character you typed. (The BACKSPACE key is in the top right corner of the keyboard’s main section. It’s to the right of the + key, and it has a left-arrow on it.)

To erase the last two characters you typed, press the BACKSPACE key twice.

Word wrap If you’re typing near the screen’s right edge, and you type a word that’s too long to fit on the screen, the computer will automatically move the word to the line below. Moving the word to the line below is called word wrap.

ENTER key When you finish a paragraph, press the ENTER key. That makes the computer move to the line underneath so you can start typing the next paragraph.

If you want to double-space between the paragraphs, press the ENTER key twice.

TAB key If you want to indent a line (such as the first line of a paragraph), begin the line by pressing the TAB key. The computer will indent the line a half inch.

Nudge a phrase To move a phrase toward the right, press the TAB key several times before typing the phrase. To move a phrase down, press the ENTER key several times before typing the phrase.

Alt symbols You can type these alternative symbols:

128 Ç 144 É 160 á 225 ß

129 ü 145 æ 161 í

130 é 146 Æ 162 ó 227 ¶

131 â 147 ô 163 ú

132 ä 148 ö 164 ñ 230 µ

133 à 149 ò 165 Ñ

134 å 150 û 166 ª 241 ±

135 ç 151 ù 167 º

136 ê 152 ÿ 168 ¿ 246 ÷

137 ë 153 Ö

138 è 154 Ü 170 ¬ 248 °

139 ï 155 ¢ 171 ½ 249 •

140 î 156 £ 172 ¼ 250 ·

141 ì 157 ¥ 173 ¡

142 Ä 158 P 174 «

143 Å 159 ƒ 175 » 253 ²

For example, here’s how to type the symbol ñ, whose code number is 164. Hold down the Alt key; and while you keep holding down the Alt key, type 164 by using the numeric keypad (the number keys on the far right side of the keyboard). When you finish typing 164, lift your finger from the Alt key, and you’ll see ñ on your screen! Try it!

Windows copied that chart from DOS. But Windows goes beyond DOS by letting you also use this fancier chart:

0192 À 0224 à

0161 ¡ 0193 Á 0225 á

0130 ‚ 0162 ¢ 0194 Â 0226 â

0131 ƒ 0163 £ 0195 Ã 0227 ã

0132 „ 0164 ¤ 0196 Ä 0228 ä

0133 … 0165 ¥ 0197 Å 0229 å

0134 † 0166 ¦ 0198 Æ 0230 æ

0135 ‡ 0167 § 0199 Ç 0231 ç

0136 ˆ 0168 ¨ 0200 È 0232 è

0137 ‰ 0169 © 0201 É 0233 é

0138 Š 0170 ª 0202 Ê 0234 ê

0139 ‹ 0171 « 0203 Ë 0235 ë

0140 Œ 0172 ¬ 0204 Ì 0236 ì

0173 0205 Í 0237 í

0174 ® 0206 Î 0238 î

0175 ¯ 0207 Ï 0239 ï

0176 ° 0208 Ð 0240 ð

0145 Ÿ 0177 ± 0209 Ñ 0241 ñ

0146 ’ 0178 ² 0210 Ò 0242 ò

0147 ¡ 0179 ³ 0211 Ó 0243 ó

0148 ” 0180 ´ 0212 Ô 0244 ô

0149 • 0181 µ 0213 Õ 0245 õ

0150 – 0182 ¶ 0214 Ö 0246 ö

0151 — 0183 · 0215 × 0247 ÷

0152 ˜ 0184 ¸ 0216 Ø 0248 ø

0153 ™ 0185 ¹ 0217 Ù 0249 ù

0154 š 0186 º 0218 Ú 0250 ú

0155 › 0187 » 0219 Û 0251 û

0156 œ 0188 ¼ 0220 Ü 0252 ü

0189 ½ 0221 Ý 0253 ý

0190 ¾ 0222 Þ 0254 þ

0159 Ÿ 0191 ¿ 0223 ß 0255 ÿ

For example, here’s how to type the symbol ã, whose code number is 0227: while holding down the Alt key, type 0227 on the numeric keypad.

Scroll arrows

If your document contains too many lines to fit on the screen, the screen will show just part of the document, accompanied by two arrows at the screen’s right edge: a scroll-up arrow (5) and a scroll-down arrow (₆).

To see a higher part of your document, click the scroll-up arrow (5).

To see a lower part of your document, click the scroll-down arrow (₆).

Insert characters

To insert extra characters anywhere in your document, click where you want the extra characters to appear (by moving the mouse’s pointer there and then pressing the mouse’s button). Then type the extra characters.

For example, suppose you typed the word “fat” and want to change it to “fault”. Click between the “a” and the “t”, then type “ul”.

(When you’re using Windows, notice that you click between letters, not on letters.)

As you type the extra characters, the screen’s other characters move out of the way to make room for the extra characters.

While you’re inserting the extra characters, you can erase nearby mistakes by pressing the BACKSPACE key or DELETE key. The BACKSPACE key erases the character that’s before the mouse’s pointer. The DELETE key erases the character that’s after the mouse’s pointer.

Split a paragraph

Here’s how to split a long paragraph in half, to form two short paragraphs.

Decide which word should begin the second short paragraph. Click the left edge of that word’s first letter.

Press the BACKSPACE key (to erase the space before that word), then press the ENTER key. Now you’ve split the long paragraph in two!

If you want to double-space between the two short paragraphs, press the ENTER key again. If you want to indent the second paragraph, press the TAB key.

Combine paragraphs

After typing two paragraphs, here’s how to combine them, to form a single paragraph that’s longer.

Click at the end of the first paragraph. Press the DELETE key several times, to delete unwanted ENTERs and TABs. Now you’ve combined the two paragraphs into one!

Then press the SPACE bar (to insert a space between the two sentences).

Movement keys

To move to different parts of your document, you can use your mouse. To move faster, press these keys instead:

Key you press Where the pointer will move

right-arrow right to the next character

left-arrow left to the previous character

down-arrow down to the line below

up-arrow up to the line above

END right to the end of the line

HOME left to beginning of the line

PAGE DOWN down to the next screenful

PAGE UP up to the previous screenful

Here’s what happens if you press the movement keys while holding down the Ctrl key:

Keys you press Where the pointer will move

Ctrl with right-arrow right (to the next word or punctuation symbol)

Ctrl with left-arrow left (to the beginning of a word or punctuation)

Ctrl with down-arrow down to the next paragraph

Ctrl with up-arrow up to the beginning of a paragraph

Ctrl with PAGE DOWN down to the end of the screen’s last word

Ctrl with PAGE UP up to the beginning of the screen’s first word

Ctrl with END down to the end of the document

Ctrl with HOME up to the beginning of the document

Buttons

Near the top of the screen, you see these buttons:

Here is each button’s name:

If you forget a button’s name, try this trick: point at the button (by using the mouse but without clicking), then wait a second. Underneath the button, you’ll see the button’s name; and at the screen’s bottom left corner, you’ll see a short explanation of what the button does.

To use a button, press it by clicking it with the mouse. Here are the details.…

Underline Here’s how to underline a phrase (like this). Push in the Underline button (which says U on it) by clicking it. Then type the phrase you want underlined. Then pop the Underline button back out (by clicking it again).

Bold Here’s how to make a phrase be bold (like this). Push in the Bold button (which says B on it) by clicking it. Then type the phrase you want emboldened. Then pop the Bold button back out (by clicking it again).

Here’s how to make a phrase be bold and underlined (like this). Push in the Bold and Underline buttons (by clicking them both). Then type the phrase. Then pop those buttons back out (by clicking them again).

Italic Here’s how to italicize a phrase (like this). Push in the Italic button (which says I on it) by clicking it. Then type the phrase you want italicized. Then pop the Italic button back out (by clicking it again).

Color Here’s how to change a phrase’s color. Click the Color button. You’ll see a list of 15 colors (plus “White” and “Automatic”). Click the color you want. Then type the phrase you want colorized. Then click the Color button again and click “Black”.

Alignment While typing a line, you can click one of these alignment buttons: Center, Align Left, or Align Right.

Clicking the Center button makes the line be centered,

like this line

Clicking the Align Right button makes the line be at the right margin,

like this line

Clicking the Align Left button makes the line be at the left margin,

like this line

Clicking one of those buttons affects not just the line you’re typing but also all other lines in the same paragraph. When you click one of those buttons, you’re pushing the button in; that button pops back out when you push a different alignment button instead.

When you start typing a new document, the computer assumes you want the document to be aligned left, so the computer pushes the Align Left button in. If you want a different alignment, push a different alignment button instead.

Clicking an alignment button affects the entire paragraph you’re typing, but the paragraphs you typed earlier remain unaffected. To change the alignment of a paragraph you typed earlier, click in the middle of that paragraph and then click the alignment button you wish.

When you start typing a new paragraph, the computer gives the new paragraph the same alignment as the paragraph above, unless you say differently (by pressing one of the alignment buttons).

Here’s how to create a centered title. Press the ENTER key twice (to leave a big blank space above the title). Then press the Center button (so the title will be centered) and the Bold button (so the title will be bold), type the words you want to be in the title, and press the ENTER key afterwards. Congratulations: you’ve created a centered title! Next, make the paragraph underneath the title be normal: make that paragraph be uncentered (click the Align Left button) and make it be unbolded (click the Bold button, so the Bold button pops back out).

Bullets While you’re typing a paragraph, you can push in the Bullets button (by clicking it). That makes the computer indent the entire paragraph and also put a bullet (the symbol ·) to the left of the paragraph’s first line. That’s called a bulleted paragraph.

After you’ve typed a bulleted paragraph, any new paragraphs you type underneath will be bulleted also — until you request an unbulleted paragraph (by popping the Bullet button back out).

Font Size

Left of the Bold button, the screen also shows a box containing the number 10. That’s called the Font Size box. The 10 in it means the characters you’re typing are 10 points high.

If you change that number to 20, the characters will be twice as high (and also twice as wide). To change the number to 20, click in the Font Size box, then type 20 and press ENTER. Try it! Any new characters you type afterwards will be the size you chose. (Characters typed earlier don’t change size.)

You can make the font size be 10 or 20 or any other size you like. For best results, pick a number from 8 to 72. (If you pick a number smaller than 8 or bigger than 72, the result is ugly.) The number can end in .5; for example, you can pick 8 or 8.5 or 9 or 9.5 or 10.