Tweak UI is part of the Windows Power Toys package, which added a lot of shell functionality that became standard later on. I don't remember if Open With was part of that, but I do remember installing it as a matter of course on builds back then.

Ooh, I didn't know the PowerToys thing existed. I'm going to give it a whirl.

Yep Win95 is the recommended OS of choice for socket 7 and below and Win98 kicks in after that point.
IE5 is faster and doesn't bog down the system like IE4 but not sure it really offers any benefits over IE3 I wouldn't call it a necessary upgrade.

TweakUI 1.33 is the powertoy your after, and its getting hard to find!
http://www.iancowley.co.uk/down.shtml
I don't remember it adding open with options, it did allow modifying the send to entries though

chinny22 wrote:

TweakUI 1.33 is the powertoy your after, and its getting hard to find!
http://www.iancowley.co.uk/down.shtml
I don't remember it adding open with options, it did allow modifying the send to entries though

Ah, nice! Just installed this on my new Thinkpad as well. Seems to work well.

I should mention as an aside that running the "Revenge of Mozilla" utility on the new 98SE installation my Thinkpad actually made the experience much more like Windows 95, by gutting the IE shell integration and reverting to the Windows 95 explorer.exe. I like it so far.

I recently found a CD-R that I made back in the Win9x days. I had written my own auto-run program in VB that had all my driver and application archives available from a categorized menu. I used to put a lot more effort into those things than the unceremonious dumping of crap onto a NAS that I do now. 😉 Anyway, I'm going to have to go through it and find all the old gems that have been lost to the winds since then. I'm sure I have Power Toys and a bunch of essential Win 95 updates and the like on there.

chinny22 wrote:

Yep Win95 is the recommended OS of choice for socket 7 and below and Win98 kicks in after that point.

Agreed. I've toyed around with Win98 on occasion on pre-Pentium II machines and it always is quite noticeably sluggish. Almost always on these same machines, Windows 95 speeds along like a champ and is just as stable I find (that'll probably vary a bit from person to person I'm sure, but I've never noticed a difference personally ... could just be good luck I suppose ... *shrug*).

SirNickity wrote:

I had written my own auto-run program in VB that had all my driver and application archives available from a categorized menu.

🤣 Are you me? I used to do this too, haha. I got a real kick out of showing it off to friends (who couldn't have cared less about it, heh). I used to do this with CD-RW's though, as I'd periodically update. It was also for practical reasons too. My parents were divorced and I mainly lived with my dad out in the middle of nowhere with only dial-up internet. At some point around 1999/2000 or so, my mom (who lived in the city) got cable internet and so downloading large programs, games, etc obviously became quite a bit easier and in this era before USB flash drives were commonplace, the easiest way to transfer files to bring them back home with me was updating my "common programs and tools" CD-RW. I think I still have it in a box somewhere, but it's long since become unreadable.

You can also keep win98se and use 98lite to swap explorer.exe from win95.

I am pretty satisfied with 98SE on my 200~233mmx systems - but I do kill active desktop and perform some cleanup operations... else it's crap 😵
I am also using custom batch files and custom 98SE setup script for these 🤣 🤣 🤣
The speed appeal of 95 is interesting though, might re-visit it as well!

keropi wrote:

I am pretty satisfied with 98SE on my 200~233mmx systems - but I do kill active desktop and perform some cleanup operations... else it's crap 😵
I am also using custom batch files and custom 98SE setup script for these 🤣 🤣 🤣
The speed appeal of 95 is interesting though, might re-visit it as well!

please share.. i recently installed 98SE on my 233mmx build and it's irritating to say the least and a bit on the slow side. I honestly don't remember what machine i originally installed 98SE on back in the day, maybe it was a K62.

^ well, my "script" does many changes and installs stuff that are chosen for me , for example it sets my region/timezone, installs some utils I use, installs my folder view preferences, my favorites, some custom cursors, my preferred sound scheme, directx8.2 , wing libraries, alter start menu, hide icons, remove programs, remove warnings when opening program files folder, etc... it is supposed to be ran after 98SE fresh install, IE6 SP1 and unofficial SP2
For me the biggest boost was disabling active desktop. Unofficial SP2 also has some speed boost options for systems with more than 64MB of ram so I also select these as my p1 has 128MB.

Here are some things that are generic enough to make sense:

CLEANUP.BAT edit as needed

1@echo off
2rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3rem these kill folders webview
4rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5attrib -h c:\progra~1\desktop.ini
6rem del c:\progra~1\desktop.ini
7ren c:\progra~1\desktop.ini desktop.nin
8attrib -h c:\progra~1\folder.htt
9rem del c:\progra~1\folder.htt
10ren c:\progra~1\folder.htt folder.thh
11attrib -h c:\windows\desktop.ini
12rem del c:\windows\desktop.ini
13ren c:\windows\desktop.ini desktop.nin
14attrib -h c:\windows\folder.htt
15rem del c:\windows\folder.htt
16ren c:\windows\folder.htt folder.thh
17attrib -h  c:\windows\system\desktop.ini
18rem del c:\windows\system\desktop.ini
19ren c:\windows\system\desktop.ini desktop.nin
20attrib -h  c:\windows\system\folder.htt
21rem del c:\windows\system\folder.htt
22ren c:\windows\system\folder.htt folder.thh
23attrib -h c:\windows\system32\desktop.ini
24rem del c:\windows\system32\desktop.ini
25ren c:\windows\system32\desktop.ini desktop.nin
26attrib -h c:\windows\system32\folder.htt
27rem del c:\windows\system32\folder.htt
28ren c:\windows\system32\folder.htt folder.thh
29ren c:\windows\web web!
30rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
31rem these remove icons and programs I don't like
32rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
33del c:\windows\alluse~1\desktop\connec~1.lnk
34attrib -r c:\windows\desktop\outloo~1.lnk
35del c:\windows\desktop\outloo~1.lnk
36del %windir%\startm~1\programs\outloo~1.lnk
37del c:\windows\desktop\regist~1.lnk
38deltree /Y c:\progra~1\online~1
39deltree /Y c:\progra~1\netmee~1
40deltree /Y c:\progra~1\chat
41deltree /y c:\progra~1\outloo~1
42attrib -r %windir%\applic~1\micros~1\intern~1\quickl~1\launch~1.lnk
43del %windir%\applic~1\micros~1\intern~1\quickl~1\launch~1.lnk
44del %windir%\sendto\mailre~1.map
45rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
46rem this calls the registry alterations
47rem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
48regedit /s cleanup.reg

CLEANUP.REG edit as needed

1REGEDIT4
2
3;sets CABs location
4
5[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup]
6"SourcePath"="C:\\_RES\\CABS98\\"
7
8;sets folder view options
9
10[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
11"Hidden"=dword:00000001
12"ShowCompColor"=dword:00000000
13"HideFileExt"=dword:00000000
14"DontPrettyPath"=dword:00000000
15"ShowInfoTip"=dword:00000001
16"HideIcons"=dword:00000000
17"ShowAttribCol"=dword:00000000
18"MapNetDrvBtn"=dword:00000001
19"ClassicViewState"=dword:00000000
20"CheckedSCDlg"=dword:00000001
21
22;removes Setup MSN Internet Access icon from desktop
23
24[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{88667D10-10F0-11D0-8150-00AA00BF8457}]
25@="Setup MSN Internet Access"
26
27;removes Active Desktop references 
28
29[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
30"NoActiveDesktop"=hex:01,00,00,00
31
32[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
33"NoSetActiveDesktop"=dword:00000001
34
35;hides LogOff option in start menu
36
37[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
38"NoLogoff"=dword:00000001
39
40;removes Task Scheduler from windows startup
41
42[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices]
43"SchedulingAgent"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\mstask.exe"
44
45;enables "Show windows contents while dragging"
46
47[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
48"DragFullWindows"="1"
49
50;removes useless "new" items from right-click menu
51
52[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.wav\ShellNew]
53"FileName"="sndrec.wav"
54
55[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.UDL\ShellNew]
56@="MSDASC"
57"Data"=hex:ff,fe,5b,00,6f,00,6c,00,65,00,64,00,62,00,5d,00,0d,00,0a,00,3b,00,\
58  20,00,45,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,79,00,74,00,68,00,69,00,6e,00,67,00,20,00,61,\
59  00,66,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,20,00,74,00,68,00,69,00,73,00,20,00,6c,00,69,00,\
60  6e,00,65,00,20,00,69,00,73,00,20,00,61,00,6e,00,20,00,4f,00,4c,00,45,00,20,\

61  00,44,00,42,00,20,00,69,00,6e,00,69,00,74,00,73,00,74,00,72,00,69,00,6e,00,\
62  67,00,0d,00,0a,00,50,00,52,00,4f,00,56,00,49,00,44,00,45,00,52,00,3d,00,6d,\
63  00,73,00,64,00,61,00,73,00,71,00,6c,00,3b,00,0d,00,0a,00
64
65[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.bmp\ShellNew]
66"NullFile"=""
67
68;remove Find->On the Internet and Find->People from start menu
69
70[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FindExtensions\Static\WebSearch\0]
71@="On the &Internet..."
72"LocalizedString"="@browselc.dll,-13060"
73
74[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FindExtensions\Static\WabFind\0]
75@="&People..."
76
77;Add a Menu Option Copy to Folder
78
79[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
80@="{C2FBB630-2971-11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
81
82;Add a Menu Option Move to Folder
83
84[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
85@="{C2FBB631-2971-11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
86
87;Hide Favorites Menu
88
89[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
90"NoFavoritesMenu"=dword:00000001
91
92;Disable the recording of an entry into "Recent Documents" option of Start Menu
93
94[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
95"NoRecentDocsHistory"=dword:00000001
96
97;Disable Display Control on ‘Link to Windows Update’ Item from the Start menu 
98
99[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
100"NoWindowsUpdate"=dword:00000001
101
102;remove Scheduled Tasks and Web Folders from My Computer
103
104[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}]
105@="Scheduled Tasks"
106
107[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{BDEADF00-C265-11d0-BCED-00A0C90AB50F}]
108@="Web Folders"
109
110;altering system sounds
111
112[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating]
113@=""
114
115[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.current]
116@=""
117
118[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.default]
119@=""
120
121
122[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemAsterisk]
123
124[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemAsterisk\.Default]
125@=""
126
127[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemAsterisk\.Current]
128@=""
129
130[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemExclamation]
131
132[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemExclamation\.Default]
133@=""
134
135[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemExclamation\.Current]
136@=""
137
138[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemHand]
139
140[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemHand\.Default]
141@=""
142
143[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemHand\.Current]
144@=""
145
146[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemQuestion]
147
148[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemQuestion\.Default]
149@="C:\\WINDOWS\\media\\notify.wav"
150
151[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\SystemQuestion\.Current]
152@="C:\\WINDOWS\\media\\notify.wav"
153
154[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\MailBeep]
155
156[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\MailBeep\.Default]
157@=""
158
159[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\MailBeep\.Current]
160@=""
161
162;auto-logon assumes TWEAK-UI is installed
163
164[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\TweakUI]
165"DisplayName"="Tweak UI"
166"UninstallString"="C:\\WINDOWS\\rundll.exe setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultUninstall 4 C:\\WINDOWS\\Inf\\Tweakui.Inf"
167
168[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
169"Tweak UI"="RUNDLL32.EXE TWEAKUI.CPL,TweakMeUp"
170
171[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices]
172"Tweak UI"="RUNDLL32.EXE TWEAKUI.CPL,TweakLogon"
173
174[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
175"DefaultUserName"="user98"
176"AutoAdminLogon"="1"
177
178;enables metapad's wordwarp option
179
180[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\metapad]
181"m_WordWrap"=dword:00000001
182
183;disables IE6 annoying update notifications
184
185[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
186"NoUpdateCheck"=dword:00000001
187
188;changes regional settings
189
190[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\International]
191"Locale"="00000408"
192"sCurrency"="€"
193"sTimeFormat"="HH:mm:ss"
194"iTime"="1"
195"iTLZero"="1"

AGAIN, these work for me and my install - I cannot guarantee success with other systems!!!!

Wow, I would never trust a new installation to a script - I'm too paranoid!

I like to do everything manually, and tailor each particular machine to my specifications, in order to get it just the way I want it and so I know exactly what went into the process every step of the way.

^ well this is part of my script tailored to my needs 🤣
I have even slipstreamed some apps and IE6 SP1 in my windows installation , you can do many things if you have the patience!

keenmaster486 wrote:

My only complaints have to do with the UI lacking some features I commonly use... such as "open with" in the context menu for a file, or an obvious way to change file associations. I've heard about TweakUI, perhaps it can help with that.

Hi, was lurking around and thought I'd chime in...

You can get the "Open With" context menu item for all files with the following REG file (if you didn't install Windows in the default location, edit accordingly):

1REGEDIT4
2
3[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\openas\command]
4@="C:\\WINDOWS\\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1"
5

After importing it, run REGEDIT and delete the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\openas key, otherwise the "Open With" menu item will appear twice in places where it appeared before (e.g. files of unknown types). (Deleting keys via REG file didn't work on 95 RTM when I tried.)

It curiously appears above the "Open" item where that's present, and certain non-shortcut desktop icons (e.g. Inbox, Internet Explorer) will have it even though it's useless there, but it doesn't seem to affect the default actions for known file types and works nicely. The "Always use this program" box will even be unchecked by default for files of known types.

There should be a "File Types" tab in the Explorer's Options dialog (View menu -> Options) where you can edit file types.

While on the subject of tweaks to the original Explorer shell, you might also like this (page with screenshots here), a program that adds a Quick Launch bar to the original 95 taskbar, IE not required. It works differently from the IE shell's Quick Launch bar (items are stored in the registry; a configuration dialog is used to add items) but it does the job. Doesn't work on NT 4.0, sadly (causes Explorer to crash). I'm planning to try writing my own program to do this that would work more like the IE version and work on 95 and NT 4; if the likes of TClockEx can work on both, why not a Quick Launch bar?

Windows 95 is great, though does take an age to install with all the correct drivers etc.

I have installed (floppy version) and ran it on some of my higher spec 386's... it is essentially the last Windows based OS that a 386 will run.

everyone should be using windows 95 daily