# what drives you crazy in Windows? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2001, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538 "2001-01-24T13:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/21 "2001-01-24T19:19:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lightnin’ \* > \*\*Okay, here’s my big beef with Windows- Why doesn’t deleting a directory activate the uninstall program? I mean, you never really know where the uninstall is- is it in the directory, is it in Add/Remove Programs, or is there one at all? > > Wouldn’t things be much simpler for the user if all you had to do was try to delete the directory- Windows detects that you’re trying to delete a program which has an uninstall, it activates that uninstall, and _then_ deletes the directory? \*\* Even worse, when you delete an uninstall file, and go look in the add/remove programs list and the program is still there. So you select it and click remove. Windows comes back and says “Can’t remove because the uninstall file is missing”. Fine, but then it **leaves the program on the list**. If you can’t delete it, and know you can’t delete it, then don’t list it as a program that can be removed. ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/22 "2001-01-24T19:26:10Z")
Okay. I’ll accept that, **Mars Horizon** , and I appreciate the knowledge. Can you tell me, though, why I need such a file on each of my partitions? Your explanation leads me to think that it would only be necessary on the drive where Windows resides. ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/23 "2001-01-24T19:58:39Z")
When Outlook or other similar programs open a web link, instead of putting it in a new window, it just goes over whatever I’m looking at. Usually at the end of loading a big page. On a crap modem. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Null](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Dev\_Null](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dev_Null)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/24 "2001-01-24T20:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nikjohns \* > \*\*When Outlook or other similar programs open a web link, instead of putting it in a new window, it just goes over whatever I’m looking at. Usually at the end of loading a big page. On a crap modem. ☹ \*\* If you are using IE, go to Tools-\>Internet Options-\>Advanced and under the “Browsing” options uncheck Reuse windows for launching shortcuts. Restart your browser. HTH! ---
**Author:** ![tourbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tourbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tourbot)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/25 "2001-01-24T20:44:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by S-Terry Dan \* > > \*\*The Document History. Like a kilo of heroin, incriminating and difficult to flush. > > \*\* > > This one’s easy. There’s a freebie program from Microsoft called TweakUI which was apparently made by and for Win95/8 programmers who were equally annoyed with the documents history. DL it, run it and look in your control panel. Double click the icon and look for a tab labeled “Paranoia”. There’s a check box that’ll allow you to flush the Document History each time you reboot (it also allows all _sorts_ of other fun. > > There are lots of apps that’ll do this sort of thing, but TweakUI has the advantage of being free and easy to use. > > I believe it’s available [here](http://www.annoyances.org/win98/features/tweakui.html) > > Note that I don’t know if it works on windows ME, but it certainly works on 95/8 > > Fenris > > \*\* Um, sorta. I have TweakUI on my machine here at work, set on paranoia. I just found out recently, though, that while it does delete the contents of the history folder, it doesn’t do so well at deleting the temporary internet files, which can be equally incriminating, so to speak. In my C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 folder are several other folders, each filled with various cookies, jpegs, gifs, avis, etc., some belonging to a coworker who used this machine before I got it. And at least once a day I give my coworkers my apoplectic rant about what a few others here have dubbed the “focus problem”. Does NT/2000 do true multitasking? Because 9.x is clearly faking it. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/26 "2001-01-24T20:47:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xizor \* > \*\* > Even worse, when you delete an uninstall file, and go look in the add/remove programs list and the program is still there. So you select it and click remove. Windows comes back and says “Can’t remove because the uninstall file is missing”. Fine, but then it **leaves the program on the list**. If you can’t delete it, and know you can’t delete it, then don’t list it as a program that can be removed. \*\* Damn, you beat me to it. That is THE MOST ANNOYING THING IN WINDOWS. “Can’t uninstall, file not found?” THAT MEANS IT IS UNINSTALLED YOU TWIT, NOW REMOVE IT FROM THE REGISTRY. ARGGGGHHH… I also don’t like Windows Explorer. Particularly the new Windows Explorer that looks like IE, and AFAIK can’t even jump quickly to a directory by using a “go to” thing like in the old Explorer (Windows Explorer, not Internet Explorer. What moron decided to give them the same name!?) It is sooo much easier to do file management in a command-line interface like DOS (that’s what I always use.) Another Windows quirk that I don’t exactly hate (because it’s so funny) is when I click the little “X” on a window and it pops up a message box saying “This program has performed an illegal operation and must be shut down.” Oh no, I’ll have to exit my program now? Right in the middle of quitting? Also, it’s not directly related to Windows, but when I buy a new computer, do I really need OVER A GIGABYTE (yes, I checked) of preinstalled bullshit? I don’t NEED 5 different free ISP trials, thank you very much. And you know you have a problem when the computer is at 1024x768 resolution and the little systray mini-icons on the right (plus the start button plus more little icons on the left) take up more space than the actual active programs. (I’m building my own computer from scratch from now on. It’s cheaper and better in every way.) ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/27 "2001-01-24T20:59:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dev Null \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by nikjohns \* > > \*\*When Outlook or other similar programs open a web link, instead of putting it in a new window, it just goes over whatever I’m looking at. Usually at the end of loading a big page. On a crap modem. ☹ \*\* > > If you are using IE, go to Tools-\>Internet Options-\>Advanced and under the “Browsing” options uncheck Reuse windows for launching shortcuts. Restart your browser. > > HTH! > \*\* Life is good 😃 Anyone who can help me with this gets their name in my sig (_woo hoo_) The folder I install my Microsoft stuff to (C:\program files\Microsoft) opens every time I boot up. I renamed the folder as a test, and it didn’t appear, but I don’t have the time to uninstall everything in there (office, encarta etc). There’s nothing in my startup folder, win.ini reads: [windows] load=PTSNOOP.EXE run= NullPort=None UninstallPath=C: device=HP DeskJet 690C,HPDSKJTB,LPT1: [Desktop] … nothing in the run section. And I am **not** searching the registry for “microsoft” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Null](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Dev\_Null](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dev_Null)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/28 "2001-01-24T21:19:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyone who can help me with this gets their name in my sig (_woo hoo_)] OhboyOhboyOhboyOhboyOhboy > [@](#): > > And I am **not** searching the registry for “microsoft” 😃 Damn. Are you running win98? There is a utility called something like “msconfig.exe” that can help you sort out the startup stuff. Try Regedit, do HKEY\_LOCAL\_MACHINE-\>SOFTWARE-\>MICROSOFT-\>WINDOWS-\>CurrentVersion-\>Run to see if explorer is loading it there. Check other HKEYS-\>[Same path]-\>Run Kill the offending key. STANDARD WARNINGS ABOUT EDITING THE REGISTRY APPLY! If you don’t know what you are doing, please don’t modify the registry. BTW, What the heck is PTSnoop? tourbot: NT is no better than 9x about apps demanding to be front and center. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/29 "2001-01-24T21:39:55Z")
What do I hate about windows? Hmmm…I hate when you open the sash and it drifts back closed and ya gotta prop it open with a ruler.VERY annoying. ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538/30 "2001-01-24T21:45:40Z")
**Dev Null** I’m running Windows ME ☹ msconfig.exe is there, but I’m damned if I know what I’m doing… No reference in the registry keys you suggested either. PTSnoop is my keyboard hotkey thing. Lets me open Word or mute the sound from the keyboard. Useful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drives-you-crazy-in-windows/51538.md?page=1)