![]() | Installing DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95 |
![]() | Upgrading Operating Systems |
![]() | Boot Sequences for DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95 |
![]() | Windows 95 Plug and Play |
![]() | Loading/Adding Device Drivers |
![]() | Changing Options, Configuring, and Using the Windows Printing Subsystem |
![]() | Installing and Launching Windows and Non-Windows Applications |
![]() | Editing AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS Files |
All PCs require that some form of operating system be installed on them. Until mid-1996, the most popular operating system was a combination of DOS and Windows 3.x. Both of these operating systems share many things in common such as requiring that device drivers be installed. Windows 95 introduced Plug and Play, which provided automatic driver installation and resource distribution. In this chapter, we discuss all of these things and a few more as they relate to DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95.
Installation of operating systems such as DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95 are all fairly simple. There are some steps that are required by each of the installation procedures such as creating a partition, formatting the hard drive, and the usage of a setup utility. These are discussed in the sections that follow.
Figure 11-1: The FDISK utility is a DOS-based utility that defines the partition structure of a hard drive
Figure 11-2: Formatting a drive is a fairly simple process that erases all of the data from a partition
Figure 3: Figure 11-3 The Windows 95 Setup utility provides a graphical user interface that makes the setup process fairly simple
Nearly all basic devices require that device drivers be loaded in some shape or form. Most devices, such as Network Interface Cards and sound cards, require that a device driver be loaded.
DOS does not internally provide any support for loading device drivers. You can, however, install device drivers by adding them to CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. We cover how to edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT in the later section entitled "Editing AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS Files." The most common devices that would have been installed in this fashion would be sound cards, mice, and CD-ROM drives.
In Windows 3.x, device drivers are usually installed by a setup program provided by the device manufacturer. Some basic drivers such as mouse and video are built into the Windows 3.x setup program.
Windows 95 has the capability and requirement of having a device driver loaded for nearly every device in the system. During the setup process, Windows 95 attempts to automatically detect any devices that exist and then load device drivers for those devices. At the time of installation, Windows 95 should automatically load all device drivers that are necessary for the system to be operational.
The process of upgrading operating systems is a rather simple one in most cases. It is important to remember to always backup all of your data prior to any type of upgrade. No matter how well planned and organized an upgrade is, loss of data is always possible.
Upgrading from DOS to Windows 95 is a rather simple process. The first, and most obvious, requirement is that you purchase a copy of Windows 95. On a side note, if you have a system that has DOS installed on it, and is not running Windows 3.x, it might be a good idea to consider upgrading hardware prior to installing Windows 95. In most cases, if Windows 3.x was not installed on the system, it was because of performance issues, in which case Windows 95 will provide worse performance. The published minimum requirements to run Windows 95 are a 386DX-20 with 4 MB of memory. Although this machine is capable of running Windows 95, it will be very slow and incapable of running many applications.
Upgrading from Windows 3.x to Windows 95 is a simple task. Once you have purchased the Windows 95 Upgrade CD, all you need to do is run the setup utility from Windows 3.xs file manager. Windows 95 Upgrade uses the current configuration files for DOS and Windows 3.x to help in the hardware-detection process. In addition, all of your Program Manager groups will be added to the Windows 95 Programs Group under the Start Menu.
Once Windows 95 has been installed, nearly all of the necessary device drivers should have automatically been installed for you. If there are any device drivers that you still need to have installed, you can do so by clicking on Add New Hardware. The Add New Hardware Wizard then guides you through the installation process beginning with scanning the system for new devices.
When a PC first starts, it goes through a boot sequence. This boot sequence is the sequence of events that occur during the bootup process. A PC with a standard configuration usually attempts to boot to a floppy drive first. The PC then attempts to boot the first partition on the master hard drive on the primary drive chain.
Windows 3.x is not automatically started when the system starts. Many users add a line to the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to start Windows 3.x after the AUTOEXEC.BAT has been processed. Windows 95 is automatically started when the system is started.
Windows 95 primarily provides three different modes that the system can be started in. The three modes are: Normal Mode, Safe Mode, and DOS Mode.
Normal Mode is the mode in which Windows 95 is started by default. Normal Mode provides full functionality of the Windows 95 Explorer. Windows 95 loads all of the drivers that are installed on the system.
It is possible to install more than one operating system on a computer. Configuring a system for using more than one operating system is called multi-boot configuration. Configuration of the Boot Options is done by editing the MSDOS.SYS file that is located in the root of the system partition on the master drive on the primary drive chain. This file should be edited following procedures detailed in the Windows 95 Resource Kit.
When Windows 95 is booted for the first time with a particular Windows 95 Plug and Play-compatible device installed, the device is automatically recognized by Windows 95.
When a new device is first detected, Windows 95 attempts to find a driver from its library of drivers. If Windows 95 finds that the driver is in its library and the driver is already installed on the system, Windows 95 continues as normal. If the driver is in the Windows 95 driver library but has not been installed on the system, Windows 95 prompts you to insert the Windows 95 CD and installs the drivers. If the driver is not in the library, and has not been installed yet, you are prompted for the disks containing the drivers and the operating system installs them from there.
All system resources are assigned to Plug and Play devices automatically using the Plug and Play information that Windows 95 has previously gathered. The new devices are given all of the system resources that they request (so long as they are available) and reports their usage back to Windows 95.
In proper operation, Windows 95 automatically detects all devices and assigns them the appropriate resources.
In the event that devices are not working correctly, a good troubleshooting method is to delete the device from Device Manager and restart the system. When rebooted if the device is not redetected and does not work properly, the device is either faulty or Plug and Play is not operating correctly.
The process of adding device drivers is a rather simple one. It is important that the procedures outlined in your specific operating systems instructions are followed specifically.
Any device other than video and the keyboard (and including these in special cases) requires that a device driver be installed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, or both. Consult the devices documentation for specific instructions.
Most device driver manufacturers provide an installation program that installs whatever lines need to be added to AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS automatically. If a device driver does not include such an installation program, the drivers need to be copied onto the hard drive, and then AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS need to be edited according to the device drivers documentation.
Windows 3.x requires the use of DOS device drivers for some devices such as CD-ROM drives and sound cards. In addition to the use of DOS device drivers, nearly all other major devices require that device drivers be installed. Windows 3.x requires device drivers for devices such as video, mice, and many others. Installation of Windows 3.x drivers should be done in accordance with the instructions provided by the driver manufacturer.
Windows 95 does not rely on DOS device drivers like Windows 3.x but does support them for backward-compatibility. In addition to providing compatibility for DOS device drivers, Windows 95 also provides support for Windows 3.x device drivers. If more recent drivers are available, it is highly suggested that you use the Windows 95 driver. To install a device driver in Windows 95, you would simply use the Add New Hardware Wizard shown in Figure 11-4 and follow the directions provided there.
Figure 11-4: The Windows 95 Add New Hardware Wizard automatically scans the system for new hardware and installs the appropriate drivers for you
Figure 11-5: The Windows 95 Add Printer Wizard steps you through the process of adding a new printer
Once you understand the system files, you should have no problem editing them, right? Well, most of the time. However, sooner or later you will run into one of these files that was previously edited by some other tech who had his or her own ideas of good editing techniques. Often, the way some techs edit them, youd have better luck deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. These files will probably have many added lines and no comments. I saw one so bad that it took me an hour to even start to understand the logic behind the editing. And, to top it all off, the last editor had only placed one remark in the files, written in all caps: "DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING." Well, its common that something will need to be changed in these files as hardware and software are installed, and commenting not to change anything does nothing more than make a workaround next to impossible. Instead of spending the next week on this PC, I looked at the repair log for that computer and found the previous tech who worked on the machine. Luckily, he was still with the company, so I made him edit this file.
When you make a change on a computer, always comment what you do and make your changes understandable to the next person. If you use commands that arent common, make sure you comment on them and explain them. Back up all previous versions before you change them and remark in the file what you have changed and why. All too often, when things are unclear, a tech will resort to using a skeleton or default version of a system file. This may completely reverse any changes that you have made and any hardware or software changes in these files. You may have to end up reinstalling everything, or stitch together the old file and the new file. Of course there is software that can help you do this, but why spend the time?
One last point to ponder on these files: Make sure that when your system boots, you are not getting errors that are on the screen for the user to see. When your operating system boots up, it usually tells you things like error in config.sys on line 8. Find out why these are happening and fix them. Users dont like to see errors, and furthermore they may be causing other problems. If you know they are not causing problems and are just remnants from an application that was not fully removed, simply REM them out. REMing them out is better, just in case you actually do need them.
By Ted Hamilton, MCP, A+ Certified
This chapter has offered you a general understanding of installing, configuring, and upgrading the various flavors of Microsoft operating systems and applications. As you have seen throughout this chapter, these processes are relatively simple and straightforward. There are slight differences between performing these functions on DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95 systems with Windows 95 being the most intelligent in this regard and this chapter has equipped you with the information necessary to be able to perform these functions across the board. Just remember that its always important to review any specific products documentation when installing the necessary drivers for it.
![]() | The first step in the preparation for using a new disk drive (or an old drive that you want to erase everything off of for that matter) is to create a partition on the drive using the FDISK utility. |
![]() | For DOS systems, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95, the maximum size of a partition is 2 GB. |
![]() | If you wish for a drive to be bootable, the drive needs to be formatted with the /s switch. If you do not want to erase all of the data from the drive, the SYS command can also be issued to make the drive bootable. |
![]() | DOS does not internally provide any support for loading device drivers. You can, however, install device drivers by adding them to CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. |
![]() | If you have a system that has DOS installed on it, and is not running Windows 3.x, it might be a good idea to consider upgrading hardware prior to installing Windows 95. |
![]() | If there are any device drivers that you still need to have installed after youve installed Windows 95, you can do so by clicking on Add New Hardware. |
![]() | In order to boot a system from any type of disk, be it a hard drive or a floppy drive, the partition you wish to boot off of must be set as and the system files must be copied to the partition. |
![]() | Windows 95 primarily provides three different modes that the system can be started in: Normal Mode, Safe Mode, and DOS Mode. |
![]() | The Safe mode allows you to change an incorrect setting, which in most cases allows you to return an abnormally functioning system to its correct operation. |
![]() | DOS Mode, or DOS Compatibility Mode as it is commonly known, allows execution of some older MS-DOS applications that are not capable of running in Windows 95. |
![]() | Configuring a system for using more than one operating system is called multi-boot configuration. |
![]() | Windows 95 Plug and Play automatically configures and tracks resources such as IO Memory Addresses, IRQ Address, and DMA Addresses. |
![]() | In the event that Plug and Play devices are not working correctly, a good troubleshooting method is to delete the device from Device Manager and restart the system. |
![]() | When adding device drivers, it is important that the procedures outlined in your specific operating systems instructions are followed specifically. |
![]() | AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS do not even have to exist for Windows 95 to function fully. |
![]() | The Windows Printing Subsystem requires very little configuration. To begin to use the subsystem, a printer must be first installed. |
![]() | Among other things, CONFIG.SYS provides the ability to install device drivers. |
![]() | AUTOEXEC.BAT is more commonly used to invoke device drivers for devices such as the mouse and the CD-ROM drive. |