Quick Tips for Windows NT (August 1999)

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Windows Logo Key Shortcuts
Copy and Paste in a Command Window
The Shutdown Utility
Restricting Access to Floppy Drives
Install Additional Windows NT Licenses
Preventing Windows 95 From Being a Master Browser
My Clients Aren't In Network Neighborhood
Windows NT and Windows 9x Can't Share Roaming Profiles

Windows Logo Key Shortcuts

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

To minimize all open windows, press the Windows logo key+M. To restore the windows to their previous positions, press the Windows logo key+SHIFT+M.

Below is a list of several Windows logo key shortcuts.

Copy and Paste in a Command Window

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

There are three ways to copy and paste the contents of a command window:

1. Maximize the command window by pressing ALT+ENTER and then press the PRINT SCREEN key to copy the screen to memory. You can paste that screen into a Windows® application by opening the application and pressing CTRL+V.

2. Right-click the command window title bar, select Mark from the Edit menu, select the area to be copied, press ENTER to copy the selection to memory or right-click the title bar again, and select Copy from the Edit menu.

3. You can enable Quick Mode by right-clicking the title bar and selecting Properties, Options, and selecting the QuickEdit Mode check box. Now you can select text with your left mouse button and simply press ENTER to copy the selection into memory. You can paste the selection into a Windows application by pressing CTRL+V.

The Shutdown Utility

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

Use the Shutdown.exe utility that's shipped with the Windows NT Resource Kit to reboot the local machine. An example of the usage is Shutdown /l/r/c/y. The command line arguments add flexibility to the utility. Use /l to shut down the local machine, /r to reboot, /c to close all programs, and /y to avoid having to answer yes to prompts. You can also use this utility in conjunction with the AT command to schedule a shutdown at specific times. An example of this is:

AT 23:59 /every:M,T,W,Th,F shutdown /l /r /c /y

Restricting Access to Floppy Drives

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

Floplock is a service that can be used to limit floppy disk drive access to Administrator Group accounts for Windows NT Server or Administrator and Power User Group accounts for Windows NT Workstation. When the Floplock service is installed and started, only those users in the groups mentioned above have access to the computer's floppy disk drives. To install the Floplock service, you must use the Service Installer tool (Instsrv.exe) that comes with the Windows NT Resource Kit.

1. Install Instsrv.exe and Floplock.exe from the Windows NT Resource Kit.

2. At the command prompt, type the following commands:

   cd\<folder name>

   instsrv <service name> <drive>:\<folder name>\floplock.exe
   where <service name> is the name you specify for the Floplock service, <drive> is the drive letter in which the Windows NT Resource Kit is installed, and <folder name> is the folder in which the Windows NT Resource Kit is installed.

If you want the Floplock service to start automatically when you log on to Windows NT, change the setting to Automatically via the Service icon of the Control Panel.

You can remove the Floplock service by typing

Instsrv <service name> remove

at the command prompt, where <service name> is the name you specify for the Floplock service from the command prompt.

Install Additional Windows NT Licenses

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

To install additional licenses for a Windows NT Server that's based on Per Server, do the following:

• Log on to the Windows NT Server

• Start the License Manager select Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, and License Manager)

• Click the Products View tab

• Click Windows NT Server

• Select Properties from the License menu

• Click the Server Browser tab, select the Windows NT Server and click Edit

• Select Windows NT Server and click Edit

• Click Add Licenses—make sure the product selected is Windows NT Server, enter the number of licenses, and click OK

• Click the I Agree button and click OK

• Click OK to finish

To install additional licenses for a Windows NT Server that's based on Per Seat, do the following:

• Log on to the Windows NT Server

• Start the License Manager (select Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, and License Manager)

• Select New License from the License menu

• Select Windows NT as the product

• Increase the number of licenses

• Enter a comment

• Click OK

• Click the I Agree button and click OK

Preventing Windows 95 From Being a Master Browser

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

To prevent a Windows 95 machine from acting as a master browser, do the following:

• Open the Control Panel and click the Network icon

• Click the Configuration tab

• Select File And Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks and click Properties

• In the Properties dialog box, click Browse Master and select Disabled in the Value box

• Click OK to exit File And Print Sharing For Microsoft Networks

• Click OK to exit the Network icon

My Clients Aren't In Network Neighborhood

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

If your client computers aren't showing up in Network Neighborhood, you'll have to install File And Print Sharing. To do this, click the Network icon in the Control Panel and click File And Print Sharing. Select the appropriate check boxes to enable "I want to be able to give others access to my files" and "I want to be able to allow others to print to my printer(s)."

Windows NT and Windows 9x Can't Share Roaming Profiles

By Troy Thompson, MCSE+Internet

Windows NT and Windows 9x cannot share a roaming profile. Windows 9x clients store the profile in the root of the home directory, while Windows NT clients store the profile in the profile path location. Differences also exist in the registry structure of Windows 9x and Windows NT that prevent you from simply copying the profile information into the respective directory for Windows NT or Windows 9x. Windows NT stores the user portion of the registry in the file NTUSER.DAT, while Windows 9x stores it in USER.DAT.