In case you aren't familiar with them, user profiles enable different users of the same system to use different settings: wallpaper, desktop shortcuts, color schemes, and so on. With user profiles enabled, everyone who uses the system logs on using his or her user name and password, and sees only his or her personal settings.

To set up user profiles, select Start, Settings, Control Panel, then double-click Users. Now just follow along to complete the Enable Multi-user Settings wizard. You'll need to select a user name, a password, and the items you want to customize. Click Finish, wait for Windows 98 to set up the new profile, then click Yes to restart Windows (or No to restart later). To set up the next user, double-click Users, click the New User button, and so on.

From now on, whenever you start Windows 98, you'll get a Welcome To Windows dialog box. Type your user name and password, then click OK. Now go ahead and start customizing. Your changes won't affect anyone else's settings.