Tutorial 16

Installing devices, managing memory, optimizing the system, and troubleshooting are handled differently in Windows 95 than in Windows 3.x.

The ultimate goal of any computer user is to be able to simply plug any device into a computer, turn it on, and have it work. This is the concept upon which Plug and Play is founded. A well-designed Plug and Play system eliminates the need for jumpers, switches, and installation software.

The three requirements of Plug and Play are: a Plug and Play BIOS, a Plug and Play device, and a Plug and Play operating system (such as Windows 95).

Windows 95 does not require MS-DOS. MS-DOS is provided mostly for backward compatibility.

DOS 7.0 comes with Windows 95.

CONFIG.SYS is not required to install GUI drivers; however, it is required if you want to use any real-mode drives.

The VCACHE that comes with Windows 95 is quite different from Windows 3.x in that the cache is "sized dynamically." As Windows needs more RAM, it takes away from the cache and vice versa. Unfortunately, the cache-sizing algorithms are very slow, especially when used with the swap file; therefore, the swap file needs to be limited in size.

Windows 3.x is basically an operating environment created to run on top of MS-DOS; its purpose is to provide a GUI and other features in order to run programs and manage files easily. Windows 95 is a complete operating system that includes an improved GUI as well as other useful features.

Older disk utilities do not understand many of the improvements of Windows 95, such as long filenames.

The first step in the boot-up process is to run the POST.

MS-DOS external commands reside in the windows\command directory of the bootable drive.

FDISK for Windows 95 is no different than for Windows 3.x; it is used to partition hard drives. Windows 95 OSR2 and Windows 98 do give the option of using FAT32 file system instead of FAT16.

Virtual memory uses disk space to simulate RAM. This hard disk drive space is called the swap file.

The two binary files that hold the Registry database are called SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT.

An MS-DOS session runs inside a window in the GUI. Windows 95 has the new MS-DOS mode that allows creation of custom CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files for tough MS-DOS applications. MS-DOS mode exits the GUI-therefore, you might have to configure real-mode drivers to access hardware.

You must create (or edit) the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to load the appropriate real-mode drivers for the CD-ROM. You will also need to run the MSCDEX.EXE application.

Windows 95 no longer creates .PIF files by using the PIF editor. PIF settings are created by accessing the Properties value that appears when an MS-DOS application is right-clicked.

The five steps are startup and system check; information collection; hardware detection; startup disk creation and file installation; and windows configuration.

Only the OSR2 version uses FAT32.

Safe mode starts Windows 95 with a minimum of drivers. This mode is considered to be the Windows 95 troubleshooting mode.

The three primary Registry backup tools available in Windows 95 are: Microsoft Configuration Backup (CFGBACK.EXE), Emergency Recovery Utility (ERU.EXE), and REG files.