Chapter 5
Windows 9x
Operating System
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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 / \ ; : * ? " < > 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.
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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.
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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.
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Windows Explorer
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Requirements for Installing Windows 98
•When installing Windows 98, the following requirements must be
met:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs
--> Click the Startup Disk tab
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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.
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