Here's our Windows 95/98 Tip for.. May 3, 1997
Click Here to see a complete list of all of our previously released Tips!
Adding application events to sounds
First of all, this isn't what it might sound like. It's not the long way to add sound-event associations for events that you can easily set through the Sounds item in the Control Panel. In fact, it's just the opposite: a way to add the actual "events" that you can associate sounds with later.

Run REGEDIT and go to the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. Right-click on the Apps folder, then choose New|Key from the menu. For the new Key name, use the name of the .EXE file for which you want sounds. (For easier reading, change the key Default from "None" to the name of the application.)

Right-click on the key you created with the right mouse button. Choose New|Key. Name this new key Open. Create another new key the same way and name it Close.

Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Sounds icon. There you'll find a new item and two subitems, Open program and Close program, for the program you just added to the Registry. Now you can add sound (.WAV) files to them.

The next time you Start or Close the .EXE file, the sounds will play. There's no limit to the Registry database, so go ahead and add all the programs and events you like.

WARNING!! This is a REGISTRY HACK! And as such, you MUST FIRST make a backup of your Registry so that you can recover from any mistakes you might make. The Registry is a very unforgiving place if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing. An incorrect Registry entry can render your entire system INOPERABLE. DO NOT attempt to change Registry settings without a Backup. Don't say we didn't warn you...

The Configuration Backup Utility is one of the CD-Extras, so if you don't have the CD-ROM version of Windows 95, CLICK HERE to download it now.