Windows 9x

1
Chapter 5

• Windows 9x
• Operating System

2
Naming Files

• The terms directory and folder are used
  interchangeably to describe a place to store
  information.
• Windows 3.1 and DOS file names are limited to
  eight letters plus a three-letter suffix called
  an extension.
• Windows 98 and later allow extended filenames of
  up to 255 characters. Folder names use the same
  rules as file names.
• Never use these characters / \ ? " lt gt
  because they are associated with special
  functions when executing commands from a prompt.
  Legal or allowable characters include all other
  characters and numbers available on a standard
  computer keyboard.

3
Directories and Folders

• To understand files, folders, and sub-folders,
  imagine a tree. The trunk is the starting place
  or the main part of the tree.
• Branches of the tree are folders. They connect to
  the trunk.
• Minor branches attach to these major branches as
  sub-folders.
• Files are like leaves attached to the major and
  minor branches inside (attached to) folders and
  sub-folders.

4
Directories and Folders

• Windows Explorer displays the hierarchical
  structure of files, folders, and drives on a
  computer.
• It can be found by clicking on the Start button
  to access the Start menu, pointing to Programs
  and then clicking on Windows Explorer.
• Alternatively, right click on the Start button
  and choose Explore from the pop-up menu.

5
Windows Explorer
6
Recognizing File Types in Windows

• The following file extensions describe the file
  format or the type of application that was used
  to create the file.
• .doc Microsoft Word or WordPad
• .xls Microsoft Excel
• .dbf or .dat database files
• .txt ASCII text with no formatting (bold,
  underline, etc.)
• .exe and .com executable programs
• .sys DOS or Windows driver files
• .dll Windows dynamic link libraries
• .htm or .html Internet Hypertext Markup
  Language (web page)
• .ini Windows or other configuration files

7
System Properties

• The System Properties tool can be accessed from
  within the control panel by double clicking the
  system icon.
• The system properties window includes four tabs
  across the top.
• General
• Device Manager
• Hardware Profiles
• Performance

8
System Properties

• General tab (default tab) lists information
  relating to the system. This information includes
  operating system version, licensing information,
  and system specifics such as processor type and
  the amount of memory.
• Device Manager provides the user a list of all
  the hardware within the system and allows the
  user to view which system resources are being
  used. It can also be used to update device
  drivers, disable or enable devices, and change
  resource settings.
• Hardware profiles allow the user to have
  different hardware configurations for the same
  operating system.
• Performance tab displays information about the
  current system's performance statistics and
  allows access to the virtual memory and file
  system settings.

9
Add / Remove Programs

• Use Add/Remove Programs to remove programs that
  have been installed, to install Windows specific
  components that weren't installed initially, and
  to create a Windows startup disk.
• It is recommended that when you uninstall an
  application that you go into the Add/Remove
  Programs utility and click the "Uninstall"
  button to uninstall the software.
• This will assure that the uninstalled application
  is removed from the system together with all its
  associated pieces.

10
Registry

• The Registry is a hierarchical database that is
  an efficient management system for all of the
  information needed by the Windows operating
  system.
• The Registry is made up of two files
• System.dat
• User.dat.
• The system.dat file contains information about
  the hardware in the system. The user.dat file
  contains user specific information.

11
MSCONFIG.EXE

• MSConfig.exe is an excellent tool for users of
  Windows 98 and ME. It is not included in Windows
  95.
• MSConfig.exe allows the user to control how the
  system is started by giving quick access to
  important Windows configuration/initialization
  files, including Config.sys, Autoexec.bat,
  System.ini, and Win.ini files.
• It also allows the user to select what programs
  are loaded automatically when the computer is
  booted.

12
Partitioning a Hard Drive

• When a new hard drive is installed it is
  completely blank. There are no spaces where files
  and folders can be stored. To create those
  spaces, a hard drive must first be divided into
  logical sections. These sections are called
  partitions.
• Typically with DOS, when the hard drive is
  divided into more than one partition, the first
  partition is called to as the primary partition,
  while the second is called the extended
  partition.
• DOS can have up to four separate primary
  partitions, or three primary and one extended,
  two primary and one extended, or just one primary
  and one extended partition on one hard drive,
  depending on user needs.

13
Logical Drives

• When a hard drive is partitioned, including an
  extended partition, the extended partition uses
  up all free hard disk space not included in the
  primary partition(s).
• There can be only one extended partition per
  disk, but unlike the primary, it can be
  subdivided into multiple (up to 23) sections
  called logical drives.

14
FDISK

• FDISK is the partitioning program for MS-DOS,
  Windows 9x, Unix, and Linux.
• . When a hard drive is partitioned, the FDISK
  program creates the disk's boot sector.
• When the hard drive is formatted, the information
  to boot the operating system is recorded in the
  boot sector.

15
Formatting the Hard Drive

• After the drive is partitioned, it must be
  prepared to store data. This process is called
  formatting. Formatting a hard drive creates
  magnetic tracks in concentric circles on the disk
  surface. These tracks are then broken up into
  chunks of 512 bytes called sectors.
• The combination of two or more sectors on a
  single track is called a cluster. A cluster is
  sometimes called a block. The size of each
  cluster depends on the size of the hard disk and
  the version of DOS in use.
• A cluster is the minimum unit DOS will use to
  store a file. This means that even if a file is
  only one byte long, one whole cluster will still
  be used to store the file.

16
File Allocation Table

• During formatting, a special file, called the
  File Allocation Table (FAT) is created and
  located in the disk's sector 0.
• FAT is a reference table that the OS uses to
  locate files on the disk.
• Newer DOS versions actually provide additional
  protection by storing a second (identical) copy
  of the original FAT created during formatting at
  another location. The first copy is the normal
  working copy while the second FAT is used as a
  backup measure in case the contents of the first
  FAT become corrupted.

17
FAT16 FAT32

• The original 16-bit FAT (called FAT16) is
  associated with DOS and Windows 3.x
• When a hard drive is formatted for installation
  of DOS, the FAT is created.
• A more efficient form of FAT(FAT 32), came with
  Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, and Windows
  Millennium Edition. These operating systems are
  collectively known as Windows 9x.
• When formatted for the installation of Windows
  9x, FAT32 is created as the file system in the
  disk partition where the Windows 9x OS is to be
  installed.

18
Types of Formatting

• A drive may be formatted at a low-level or
  high-level, depending on the circumstances,
  although high-level formatting is more commonly
  used.
• Low-level formatting routine marks off the disk
  into sectors and cylinders, and defines their
  placement on the disk. (NEVER do a low-level
  format on an IDE drive unless the drive has
  failed miserably.) 
• High-level format routine is performed by the
  format command in MS-DOS. This procedure creates
  logical structures on the disk that tell the
  system what files are on the disk and where they
  can be found. A high-level format should be
  performed when the hard drive is prepared for the
  OS installation.

19
Requirements for Installing Windows 98

• When installing Windows 98, the following
  requirements must be met

20
Troubleshooting Tools

• Safe Mode - In this mode, Windows loads only the
  basic devices it needs to run. Once in Windows
  Safe Mode, check device manager to ensure that
  there are no conflicts with any devices causing
  the system to not operate properly.
• SCANDISK - Checks the surface of the disk and the
  files and inform you of any errors found. As a
  rule, always run Scandisk before the DEFRAG
  program.
• DEFRAG - It also attempts to pull together
  different pieces of the same file scattered all
  over the disk so the files can be more easily
  read by the system.

21
Troubleshooting Tools

• FDISK /MBR This undocumented MS-DOS command can
  be very useful. MBR is short for Master Boot
  Record.
• Basically, it is the hard drive's table of
  contents.
• One common problem when the computer won't boot
  is that the Master Boot Record has been
  corrupted.
• FDISK /MBR will rebuild this crucial OS boot
  record.

22
Troubleshooting Tools

• From the Device Manager menu, it can be
  determined whether there are any problems with
  installed devices on the system.
• Within the device, problem conditions are
  indicated by either an exclamation mark, a red X,
  or an 'Other device' notation.
• An exclamation point (!) inside a yellow circle
  A device is experiencing a direct hardware
  conflict with another device.
• A red "X" appearing at the device's icon The
  device has been disabled, removed, or Windows is
  unable to locate the device.
• "Other Devices" appears in place of icon
  Windows cannot recognize the device being
  installed either the drivers have not been
  installed properly, they have been uninstalled,
  or the device is not working correctly and the
  driver needs an upgrade.

23
Device Drivers

• Device drivers give today's PCs the ability to
  add a wide variety of devices to the system. A
  device driver is software specially designed to
  enable the computer to 'see' the hardware or
  devices installed within the system.
• The device driver not only allows the basic
  system to recognize the presence of a device, but
  actually enables it to work with the device.

24
Creating a Startup Disk

• A Windows 98 startup disk is essential if the
  system crashes, hangs upon startup, or when
  Windows 98 setup fails before completion.
• A Windows 98 startup disk is essential if the
  system crashes, hangs upon startup, or when
  Windows 98 setup fails before completion. The
  Windows 98 setup is easier with a Windows 98
  startup disk. This section provides an overview
  of the Windows 98 startup disk, and how to make
  one. A Windows boot disk, also called a startup
  disk, is simply a floppy disk that allows the
  user to boot, or startup the computer without
  having to access the hard drive. A typical
  Windows boot disk contains all the necessary
  files that the operating system needs to get
  started.

25
Creating a Startup Disk

• A Windows 98 startup disk can be created in two
  ways.
• The first way is to insert the floppy disk in the
  computer when prompted during setup.
• The second way is to create the startup disk
  after the Windows OS is already installed and
  running. The Windows Startup Disk tab is used to
  create a clean startup disk.
• Start --gt Settings --gt Control Panel --gt
  Add/Remove Programs --gt Click the Startup Disk
  tab

26
Uninstalling Windows 98

• Windows 98 can be uninstalled if
• You upgraded from a previous version of Windows,
  for example, from Windows 95.
• The 'Save uninstall information' option was
  selected during Windows 98 setup. Note that when
  this option is selected, Setup creates the
  Winundo.dat and Winundo.ini files that contain
  the uninstall information.