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Windows 98 General Information

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What is different from Windows 95?

For starters, the Installation procedure has been made a lot more informative, you can at any point see what Windows 98 is up to.

Windows 98 includes built-in support for MMX processors, Accelerated Graphics Port graphics cards, Universal Serial Bus peripherals, and DVD drives.

Another welcome feature of Windows 98 is it's ability to repair critical system files. The System File Checker looks at these critical files (.com., .dll, .vxd, and others) to see if they have been corrupted or modified, and restores the original if necessary.

We will just give you some of the main features of Windows 98:

  • Date-dependent components within Windows 98 are designed to make the transition to the year 2000.

  • Web Integration, such as single-click access to files and applications, icon highlighting, foreward and backward buttons, and a customizable Start menu.

  • Multiple display support, this makes it possible for you to use up to nine monitors simultaneously, even if they run at different resolutions. Increase the size of your desktop, run different programs on separate monitors, and run programs or play games with multiple views. Multiple display support requires that all of the display adapters be PCI or AGP devices.

  • Power Management, the new OnNow feature makes your computer more responsive by improving startup time. OnNow can start your computer in just a few seconds and restore your programs where you left them. OnNow should work on newer computers that use the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI).

  • USB Support, Universal Serial Bus makes your computer easier to use with advanced plug &play capabilities. Using a new, universally standard connector, you can add devices to your computer easily without having to restart.

  • IEEE 1394 bus (Fire-Wire) support, provides an industry-standard interface to control VCRs, stereos, and other consumer electronic devices from a Windows 98-based computer.

  • Update Wizard, which will connect to the MS Web site to download the latest patches, drivers and updates automatically. Also has the ability to revert to a previous device driver or system file by using the uninstall option.

  • System File Checker, keeps track of critical system files. If these are moved or changed, System File Checker restores them. (screenshot 7.1KB)

  • Scandisk, runs automatically in the event the operating system is shut down improperly. It detects corruptions when they are most likely to occur and then corrects them. You can also run ScanDisk at any time to evaluate your computer.

  • Disk Cleanup, a new tool that removes unnecessary files from a disk. You can configure Disk Cleanup to remove Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Program Files, Recycle Bin Files and Temporary Files. (screenshot 11.2KB)

  • Registry Checker, Registry Checker is a system-maintenance program that finds and fixes registry problems. When you start your computer, Registry Checker automatically scans the registry for registry problems.

    Registry Checker backs up the registry each day. If it finds a serious problem in the registry, it will restore the registry from a backup copy. Registry Checker maintains up to five compressed backups of the registry that have successfully started the computer. Registry Checker will fix the registry if a backup cannot be found.

  • Backup, provides improved backup and restore capabilities, including support for more tape drives and the latest hardware. It's now easier for you to preserve your valuable data. You can back up files from your hard drive to floppy disks, a tape drive, or another computer on your network. Backup is now a much more feature-rich backup program (written by Seagate Software).(screenshot 15.9KB)

  • Maintenance Wizard, helps you get the best performance from your system. You can run Maintenance wizard to make your programs run faster, check your hard disk for problems, and free hard disk space. By scheduling these utilities to run on a regular basis, you can make sure that your computer is performing at its best.(screenshot 19.3KB)

  • FAT32, is an improved version of the File Allocation TABLE (file system) that allows hard drives over two gigabytes to be formatted as a single drive. FAT32 uses smaller clusters than FAT drives, resulting in more efficient space use. Windows 98 includes a graphical FAT32 conversion utility (screenshot - 19.4KB), which quickly and safely converts a hard drive from the original FAT to FAT32.

  • Disk Defragmenter, optimizes the speed with which your programs load and run.

  • Internet Explorer 4 is merged with the operating system, making the desktop active. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 includes:

    • Outlook Express, a new e-mail client and collaboration tool
    • NetMeeting for Internet conferencing
    • NetShow, networked multimedia software for on-demand audio and video capabilities
    • FrontPage Express, a personal Web page editing tool

  • DVD, Digital Video Disk support, the successor to CD-ROMs. Support for DVD and digital audio delivers high-quality digital movies and audio direct to your TV or computer monitor.

  • Windows 3.1 Migration, for those who are still using Windows 3.x, tools will be included with Windows 98 to ease migrating.

  • TV. Watch TV on your computer and search for your favorite TV programs with the built-in Program Guide.

  • Enhanced Television support, combines television and HTML content, delivers new entertainment possibilities. Television producers can deliver enhanced television programming which can, for example, add statistics alongside sports broadcasts.

If you have questions regarding Windows 98, why not visit our Support BBS

07 January 1999

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