With Win 3.1 when you drag a file from the File Manager to the Program Manager and let go, the Program Manager automatically creates an icon for that file. The icon is not the file itself so deleting the icon doesn't delete the file.
With Win95 things are very different. When you drag the file from the Explorer (Win95's souped up File Manager) to your desktop, you're actually moving the file! This can be a bad move, especially if the executable requires other files in the same directory. New Win95 users invariably make the same mistake. They drag programs into the start menu folder and unwittingly move the program...without the other files it needs to operate.
Instead create a Shortcut. Like icons in the good old Win 3.1 File Manager, shortcuts point to the location of a file. You can move the pointer anywhere without moving the file or program. Here's how: when you drag a program or file, do it with your right button clicked and held. When you release the item, a menu will appear and ask if you want to Copy, Move or Create a Shortcut.
So you installed Win95 and it seems sooooo slowwwww. Win95 has a new 32-bit cache and new 32-bit disk access routines which should speed things up. You can no longer tinker with your CONFIG.SYS and SYSTEM.INI and AUTOEXEC.BAT, so what should you do first?
Answer this question: how much RAM do you have? IF the answer is less than 8MB, here lies your problem. Anything less than 8MB will make your system slow to a crawl. Run, don't walk and upgrade.
If you're running any large programs (not just scientific or engineering ones - Word and Excel are massive nowadays), or if you run several programs at once, you should seriously consider going to at least 16MB of RAM. RAM sizes above 16MB will only benefit you if you have the applications that need it.
P.S. One of the reasons you need more RAM is simply this: When you recompile a 16-bit application to 32-bit, guess what happens? It gets bigger.
Your first stop in Win95 should be the Explorer, a program that is a superset of the Win 3.1 File Manager and lets you manage your hardware, programs and files from a single point. Get there by right clicking on any folder or from the Start menu under programs.
Your in-box will automatically show up on your desktop and holds faxes, e-mail, Internet e-mail, and CompuServe e-mail. It has a nice Explorer-type interface and a new powerful search engine. It can also dial your host automatically. It's super. Get there by double clicking on the In-box icon on your desktop.
Every file, folder, Control Panel program and network connection has unique properties. Right-click on any object and choose properties at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
When you install fonts they will be stored automatically in the fonts folder. Double-click on any font icon to preview the font (very neat!)...check out the search capabilities. Get there by double-clicking on My Computer, then opening the Control Panel and double-clicking on the Fonts icon.
To install new hardware a) install it and wait...sometimes it can take up to 20 minutes for Win95 to configure itself or, b) open the Windows Control Panel, double-click on the Add New Hardware Icon and pick a category and follow the prompts.
You can change your display's configuration on the fly. Hooray! Point to any empty space on the desktop and right-click and then choose Properties. Or from the Control Panel, choose the Display icon.
Want to see how your computer is configured? Right click on the My Computer icon and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Click on the Device Manager tab and you can check things out.
Prodigy or CompuServe. The user interface will remind you of, well, Windows 95. If you didn't install the Microsoft Network, go to the Control Panel and double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. Then double-click on the MSN icon on your desktop.
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