Monday, June 18, 2001		Article

Muting the modem

IF you use a modem with your Windows ’98 computer, you may be used to hearing the various beeps and groans it makes as it dials your ISP or corporate network. While these sounds provide audible confirmation that the modem is dialling (and are helpful when troubleshooting dial-up problems), they can be extremely annoying.

One way to disable the modem speaker is to slide the Speaker Volume control to Off. To get to the Speaker Volume control, right-click the icon for the dial-up connector you use, click Properties, and click the Configure button.

Unfortunately, this control doesn’t work with all modems. If you run into this problem, try this technique, which works on most modems that accept standard AT commands: Navigate to the modem’s properties as described above, click the Connection tab, then click Advanced. In the Extra Settings field, type ATM0. Click OK to save your changes and dial up again—this time, you shouldn’t hear any modem sounds.

Using the Windows logo key

Remember when Windows 9x came out, and suddenly keyboards developed a new Windows logo key? Other than pressing it to bring up the Start menu, many of us don’t use this key to its full potential—it’s a great alternative to using the mouse. Here are a few ways you can use the Windows logo key.

* [Windows logo key]+D displays the desktop. Pressing it a second time returns you to the application you were in.

* [Windows logo key]+F opens Search For Files And Folders.

* [Windows logo key]+E opens My Computer.

* [Windows logo key]+R opens the Run command.

* [Windows logo key]+M minimizes the current application.

Managing print jobs

Once you’ve set up a printer in Windows 98 using the Add Printer icon in the Start | Settings | Printers folder, that isn’t simply the end of that folder’s usage. You can use the folder’s commands to manage your print jobs—which can be especially useful if you print large jobs or large numbers of jobs.

Double-click your defined printer in the Start | Settings | Printers folder, and if there are active print jobs, you will see them listed—usually with the active job at the top with "Printing" displayed in the Status column. If you erroneously sent a job to the printer, you don’t have to wait for it to print. Select the job, select the Document menu, and then select Cancel Printing.

If you want to pause a running print job, select the job, select the Document menu, and click Pause Printing.

You’ll see a check mark next to Pause Printing on the Documents menu. To resume the job, select Pause Printing again to remove the check mark.

If you want to pause a printer, double-click the printer, and in the Printer menu, select Pause Printing. To resume printing, select Pause Printing again.

Knowing these simple options can save you a lot of time and paper!

—Jasjeet Singh