Windows 98 Files To Your Hard Disk example essay topic

Bird Bill Gates Type ALT+F+X to exit Edit What's New for the Windows 98 Startup Disk The Startup Disk has changed significantly for Windows 98. The following items are new for Windows 98. - MULTI-CONFIG START MENU - REAL-MODE CD-ROM DRIVERS - EBD. CAB FILE - RAMDRIVE - WINDOWS 98 STARTUP PROBLEMS - USING THE TOOLS AVAILABLE ON THE STARTUP DISK MULTI-CONFIG START MENU If you boot your computer using the new Windows 98 Startup Disk, a boot menu appears allowing you the option to load drivers for the most common CD-Rom drives or perform a normal clean boot. After you make your selection, the Config. sys file loads the appropriate CD-ROM driver (if selected) and then loads a 2 MB RAMDrive.

The RAMDrive is used to store all the diagnostic tools necessary to troubleshoot the most common problems. NOTE: The RAMdrive may cause your CD-Rom to pushed back 1 drive letter. If your CD-Rom is usually drive D: , it will now be Drive E: . REAL-MODE CD-ROM SUPPORT The Windows 98 Startup Disk includes generic ATAPI IDE & SCSI CD-ROM drivers that allow your CD-ROM to function at Dos when the Windows 98 GUI is not available. NOTE: Not all CD-Rom drives are supported. If your CD-Rom drive does not function with these drivers, you must use the drivers that came with your CD-Rom drive.

EBD. CAB FILE The Ebd. cab file is a compressed file whose contents are extracted to the Ramdrive during the startup process. The table below identifies the files in the Ebd. cab file. File Function Attrib. exe Add or remove file attributes Chkdsk. exe A simpler and smaller disk status tool Debug. exe Debugging utility Edit. com Real-mod emergency text editor Ext. exe New, simple file extract utility Format. com Disk format tool Msc dex. exe Microsoft CD-ROM file extension for MS-DOS Scandisk. exe Disk status tool Scandisk. ini Disk status tool configuration file Sys. com Transfers system files and make disk bootable Uninstal. exe A tool to remove Windows 98 from the system and return the system to its previous state CREATING A RAMDRIVE The RAMDrive is created during the processing of the Config. sys file and is 2 MB in size.

The Ramdrive is created using system RAM to emulate a physical Hard Disk. Without creating the RAMdrive, we would not have enough space on a single 1.44 meg floppy disk to contain all the diagnostic tools as well as the CD-Rom drivers. WARNING: Since the RAMDrive is created during the processing of the Config. sys file and uses System RAM, it is only temporary. It will disappear if you restart your computer normally. LIST OF ALL COMPONENTS ON THE EBD The following table describes the function of each file copied to the EBD. File Function Aspi 2 dos. sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi 4 dos. sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi 8 dos. sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi 8 u 2. sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi cd. sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Auto exec. bat Startup batch file Bt cdrom. sys Mylex / BusLogic CD-ROM driver Btdosm. sys Mylex / BusLogic CD-ROM driver Command. com Command interpreter Config. sys Loads the device drivers Drvspace. bin Microsoft Drive Space compression driver Ebd. cab Cab file containing extract utilities Ebd. sys File identifying the ESD Extract. exe File to expand the Ebd. cab file Fdisk. exe Disk partition tool Findramd. exe Utility to find the RAMDrive during startup Flash pt. sys Mylex / BusLogic CD-ROM driver Hime m. sys XMS Memory Manager Io. sys System boot file Msdos. sys Boot option information (paths, multi boot, and so on) Oak cdrom. sys Generic device driver for ATAPI CD-ROM drives Ramdrive. sys Creates a Ramdrive during startup Setramd. bat Searches for first available drive to be a Ramdrive WINDOWS 98 STARTUP PROBLEMS This section includes some common troubleshooting steps that can be used when it's necessary to use the Windows 98 Startup Disk.

These steps are designed to get the user at least into Safe-Mode where you have access to Windows 98 extensive HELP system to further troubleshoot any issues. Starting Your Computer in Safe Mode There are several reasons why Windows 98 may fail to start properly. The first step in troubleshooting is to try starting your computer in Safe Mode. If Safe Mode works, you can then use the extensive Help system and troubleshooters located in the Start menu / Help option.

To start your computer in Safe Mode: 1. Remove the Startup Disk and restart your computer. After the computer restarts but before Windows begins to load, hold down the CTRL key until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears. (If you are running Windows 95, press the F 8 key at the "Starting Windows 95 prompt.) 2. From the Startup menu, select Safe Mode.

If you can start your computer in Safe Mode, use Windows 98 Help to resolve your original issue. Setup Fails and the Computer Will Not Start There are a few common reasons why Windows 98 Setup may fail to complete successfully. The following section explains what you can do to recover from these situations. For more information on other Setup problems, see the Setup. txt file in the Win 98 folder of your Windows 98 CD or Setup Disk #1. If you encounter any of these error messages while running Setup: Invalid System Disk Incorrect MS-DOS Version Missing or Corrupted Command. com Compression Driver errors It is likely that your computer's startup drive may need updated system files. You can use the SYS command to copy the needed files to your computer.

NOTE: If you are currently loading compression software, you will need to know your host drive letter. This is typically H. If you are not loading any compression software, then you will need to SYS your C drive. To use the SYS command to copy system files to your computer: 1. Restart your computer using the Windows 98 Startup Disk, select option 2 on the Startup menu, and then press ENTER. 2.

At the A: prompt, type: SYS X: (where X is your Host or Startup drive). 3. If the procedure is successful, a "System transferred" message appears. If it is not successful, check to be sure you are typing the correct drive letter for your Host Drive. IMPORTANT: If you have installed software that came with your hard drive, be sure to read the documentation that describes how to start your computer using a floppy disk. Antivirus Software If antivirus programs are left running during Setup, they may prevent Setup from properly updating the system files.

If this occurs, disable or uninstall the antivirus program, and then run Setup again. NOTE: Some computers have built-in antivirus software. This built-in software should also be disabled before running Setup. If the software is left enabled, you may receive a warning message informing you that the Master Boot Record has changed. If you see such a message, you MUST accept these changes or Setup may stop responding. Setup Stops Responding During Hardware Detection If Setup stops responding while it is detecting the hardware in your computer, turn your computer off and wait a few seconds, then turn it back on.

You may need to do this several times, because Setup could stop responding during several different detection modules. NOTE: Use the power switch to turn your computer completely off. Do not use the reset button or press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer. If Setup still fails to complete successfully, it may be necessary to start your computer in Safe Mode so that you can view the Help topics associated with hardware detection. Compressed Drives Not Mounted There are several reasons why compressed drives may not be accessible. If your Windows directory is on a compressed drive that is not mounted, you will not be able to start Windows.

If you suspect problems with your compressed drives, try using Scandisk to fix them. From the A: prompt, type: Scandisk / Mount X: where X is the drive letter of the compressed drive. ScanDisk will then attempt to repair any errors and mount the drive. If there is not enough memory to check your compressed drives, see "Installing Windows 98 from MS-DOS", in the Setup. txt file on Setup Disk 1 or the Windows 98 CD. USING THE TOOLS AVAILABLE ON THE STARTUP DISK This section describes how to use some of the utilities included with the Windows 98 Startup Disk. To run each program you should do the following: 1.

Put the Windows 98 Startup Disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer. 2. At the Startup menu, select option 1 or 2 (depending upon whether you need CD-ROM access), and then press ENTER. 3. At the MS-DOS command prompt (A: ), type the name of the utility you wish to run, and then press ENTER. SCANDISK.

EXE and CHKDSK. EXE These two programs are useful for checking your hard disk for errors. If you suspect there may be file corruption or other problems with your hard disk (s), run ScanDisk to check for and repair errors. To check all your hard disks for errors, type: Scandisk / all To perform a full surface scan of your hard disk (s) for maximum protection against data loss, type: Scandisk / all /Surface NOTE: You may receive errors about Long File Names. The MS-DOS version of ScanDisk can only detect problems with long file names, it cannot fix them. To correct these types of errors, you must run ScanDisk from within Windows 98.

NOTE: If you have any compressed drives, you may receive an error message stating that there is not enough memory to check your compressed drives. To solve this problem, try starting your computer with the Windows 98 Startup Disk, as described in Step 1, earlier in this section. Select option 2. This may allow ScanDisk enough memory to check your compressed drives. If ScanDisk is unable to check your drives, try using CHKDSK.

EXE instead. CHKDSK will check for cross-linked files and lost allocation units. SYS. COM The SYS command is used to copy system files from one disk to another. Your computer needs these system files to start. To SYS your C drive, type: SYS C: and then press ENTER.

After a few seconds, a "System Transferred" message appears. The following files are copied to your hard disk during the SYS procedure: IO. SYS MSDOS. SYS COMMAND. COM If the SYS C: command does not work and you have a compressed drive, you may need to type the drive letter of your host drive. With the Dbl Space or DrvSpace programs, the host drive is typically designated drive H. If you are not sure of the drive letter, run ScanDisk and see if it prompts you about your compressed drive.

FDISK. EXE and FORMAT. EXE FDISK and FORMAT are utilities necessary for installing a new hard disk in your computer or for starting over fresh with a clean disk. FDISK is used first to create a partition and then FORMAT is used to make the partition available for use. WARNING: Using FDISK incorrectly can destroy all data on your hard disk. If you are unsure of how to use FDISK, consult your computer documentation.

You can use the Windows 98 version of FDISK to create FAT 32 partitions on drives over 512 megabytes in size. FAT 32 reduces the cluster size for large drives and allows you to create single partitions on drives over 2 GB. To view your current drive status, type FDISK / STATUS at the MS-DOS command prompt. After you have partitioned a drive using FDISK, you will need to use the FORMAT command. To format a newly partitioned drive, type: FORMAT X: Where X represents the letter of the drive that you want to format.

If you want to format drive C, you need to make this disk a system disk so that your computer can start. To do this, type /'s at the end of the FORMAT command. For example: FORMAT C: /s System Startup files will be automatically copied after your drive is formatted. CD-ROM Drivers The Windows 98 Startup Disk includes a set of generic CD-ROM drivers.

These drivers work with most IDE ATAPI and SCSI CD-ROM models. If your particular CD-ROM drive does not work with these drivers, you will need to use the drivers that came with your CD-ROM drive. Following are some known issues about the CD-ROM drivers: 1. CD-ROM drives connected to sound cards may not work properly. 2. Early proprietary CD-ROM drives (for example, Mitsumi, Panasonic, Sony) may not work with these drivers.

Some older IDE controllers may fail as well. 3. The SCSI drivers on the Startup Disk support most Adaptec, Buslogic, and Mylex adapters. Some other SCSI CD-ROM drives may not work with the drivers on the Startup Disk. 4. If your SCSI controller is configured for a non-default I / O range, the drivers may not detect your SCSI card.

Consult your SCSI driver documentation for the default I / O ranges for your card. 5. Drivers are not included for any PC Card (PCMCIA) CD-ROM drives. UNINSTAL.

EXE -- -- If you need to remove Windows 98 from your system, you can use the real-mode uninstall utility included on the Windows 98 Startup Disk. IMPORTANT: If you did not choose the option to "Save System Files" during Setup, then you will be unable to use this utility. To use the uninstall utility, perform the following steps: 1. Restart your computer with the Windows 98 Startup Disk, select option 2, and then press ENTER. 2. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type UNINSTAL, and then press ENTER.

NOTE: If you see the message "WIN UNDO. DAT is missing or corrupt", you cannot uninstall this version of Windows 98. EXT. EXE -- - The EXT command is used in conjunction with the Extract. exe utility to make it easier to extract Windows 98 files to your hard disk. You can use this to replace missing or damaged files. This utility is extremely useful if you are receiving errors during startup about missing files, or execution errors such as General Protection Faults or invalid page faults.

To use Ext. exe to extract a file, perform the following steps: 1. Use the Startup Disk to start your computer. Select option 1, and then press ENTER. 2. Make sure the Windows 98 CD is inserted in the drive. 3.

Type EXT at the MS-DOS command prompt, and then press ENTER. 4. Follow the prompts to indicate the location of the Windows 98 Setup files, the files you wish to extract, and the location in which you want to place the extracted files. NOTE: If your CD-ROM drive letter is E, then type the location to the Setup files as E: WIN 98. NOTE: If you wish to extract more than one file at a time, you can use wild card characters.