Hiding The My Computer Icon

If you find the My Computer icon a pest and you want to remove it, there is actually no way to remove it. There is a registry hack which we don't recommend at all. OK, lets make it a deal. If we can't remove it, why not try our best to hide it? At least it is a better than none.

First of all, we need to create a an "invisible" icon. Go to our icon creating guide. Just make the whole image blank. Now, right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click on the Effects tab (or the Plus! tab if you are using Windows 95 with Plus! installed). Point the icon path to the blank icon. Apply changes and now you have a blank My Computer icon.

Now for the next problem - the name. Windows won't except blank space as a full filename. We need a filename that looks like an empty space but it is not to trick Windows. Hold down your Alt and type 0160 on the numeric keypad.

Now we have a fully invisible My Computer icon. The final step - to keep it out of reach. Put it in a place where you will never click at all. Put it on maybe the edge of the desktop or somewhere better. Have fun!

Windows 98 Shortcut keys

WinKey+E	Open an Explorer window
WinKey+R	Open the Run dialog
WinKey+Pause	Open the System Properties
WinKey+F	Find: All Files
WinKey+Ctrl+F	Find: Computer
WinKey+M	Minimize all open windows
WinKey+D	Show/Hide Desktop
WinKey+Shift+M	Undo minimize all open windows
WinKey+Tab	Cycle through taskbar program buttons
WinKey+F1	Open Windows Help

Screen Capture or Print Screen

While many people are well familiar with "taking a screen-shot of your PC", some others might wonder what it is. On an Windows PC, the "Print Screen" feature can either capture the entire screen of your PC, or an individual window. This is a simple but very helpful tip. Once you know about it, you will find it very useful in many situations, i.e. when you need to show a tech-support person an error alert on your screen, or a sample screen of an application software...

The following instructions will show you how to capture a screen shot of your entire desktop or an individual window. On most standard keyboards, the print screen button is often identified as "Print Scrn".

To capture a screen shot of your entire desktop:

1. Hit "Print Screen" key on your keyboard (or "Print Scrn").
2. Open an image editor (i.e. Photoshop, Paintshop, or the Windows built-in "Paint").
3. Press Ctrl-V to paste the image and save the file as your favorite picture format (i.e. *.JPG).

To capture a screen shot of an individual window, a popup, or an error dialog:

1. Make sure the window or popup which you want to capture is active (on the very front of your screen).
2. Hold the "Alt" button and press "Print Screen" key on your keyboard (or "Print Scrn").
3. Open an image editor and press Ctrl-V to paste the image and save the file as your favorite picture format (i.e. *.JPG).