Install Windows 95/98/ME From Scratch

How To Install Windows 95/98/ME From Scratch

Use this guide if you have a windows machine that you want to format, and install
windows from scratch. This guide can also be used, omitting the formating information, to
install windows
on top of a current windows install.

1. Make a Windows 98 Boot Disk

Get to a computer running Windows 98. If the computer is running Win98 Second Edition,
even better.
The reason we use windows 98 is because Windows 95 generally doesnt have FAT32
support, and Windows ME will not allow you to create a boot disk in the way we want to
here.Pop a fresh floppy disk into the floppy drive.
Click on “Start”, and select “Run”.
In the Run box, type in this command:

format A: /q /s

This does a quick format to save time, and puts the basic DOS files on the disk.

Now, download this package, and extract the files to the floppy disk.

When you are done you will have a floppy disk with FAT32 support, a Generic CD-ROM
driver, full memory support, and a few other tools.

2. Format Hard Drive

NOTE: If you have any important information on your computer, now is the time to back it
up. I will not go into detail on how to backup your data.NOTE: This guide does not tell you
how to partition a hard drive. If you need to know how to partition a hard drive,drop me a
line.
Put the newly created floppy into the target computer, and power it on.After about a
minute, the computer will boot into DOS, and will display some information about cd-rom
drives and such.Note what it displays as your CD-ROM drive letter.NOTE: if using this
guide to upgrade/install a version of windows already installed, skip to step 3.When at the
command prompt, you will want to type this command:

format C: /q

This command will do a quick format of your hard drive to save time.
If you wish to do a full format to overwrite all data on the drive with zeroes, just remove
“/q” from the command.
After a few seconds, or up to an hour or so if you decided to omit “/q”, you will be asked
for a lable name. You can put whatever you wish here.

When finished, you will have a freshly formatted C: drive.

If you have more hard drives in your computer, you can format them using the same
command as above, by simply changing the drive letter in the command to correspond
with the drive you wish to format.

3. Copy Windows Setup Files

Now you are ready to copy windows setup files to the hard drive. The reason we want to
copy them to the hard drive, and not install windows from the CD is because windows
installs off the hard drive much faster than from the CD-ROM drive. Also, if you need to
make changes to your configuration after windows is installed, windows will not have to
ask you for the Windows CD.If you are planning on using this guide to install windows
overtop a current version, and you
have an OEM version of Windows ( i.e. a copy of windows that came with your computer
when you purchased it)
or the full retail version, then scroll to the bottom and read the important notes about
OEM/Retail versions of windows.First, you will want to make a directory for the windows
setup files to reside.
To do this, type the following commands.

C:\

md win(XX)

cd win(XX)

these lines put you on the C: drive, make a directory, then change to that directory. You
can replace (xx) with your version of windows, i.e. 95, 98, ME, or you could just name the
folder anything you wish. Its a good idea to name it like stated, it can help prevent

someone from deleting it later, because the name looks important. )

Next, we want to copy the files onto the hard drive. Put your windows cd into the CD-ROM
drive.
Now, type the following commands:

D:

cd win98

( this may be different for your version of windows. see notes below. )

dir
 copy *.* C:

These commands change you into the setup directory on your windows cd. the win98
needs to be replaced with different things, depending on the version of windows being
installed. for windows 95, it will be win95, for windows 98, it will be win98, for windows
ME, it will be win9x.

Some may say that the “dir” is unnecesary, but I have found on some cd-rom drives, that
if you do not do a “dir”, the files will not copy. Also, some may say to use xcopy instead
of copy, because xcopy will copy all of the folders contained in the setup directory. These
extra files contain information and software not necessary for installing windows, so all I
use is copy.

4. Install Windows
After you have copied the setup files, its time to install windows. YAY!
Now we will want to switch back to the hard drive, and install windows.
To do this, type the following commands:

C:

setup

This will begin the windows setup. from here all you need to do is follow the instructions
given to you on the screen.

NOTE: if upgrading/installing on top of a current windows installation, setup may ask you
for the directory to install windows into, and usually puts “C:\WINDOWS.000″ as the
directory. You will want to change this to the name of the directory that your current
windows installation is installed in, which is usually “C:\WINDOWS”

Notes about OEM/Retail versions of Windows:

If you are installing a copy of windows over top of a current installation, and you have an OEM
version of windows (i.e. a version that came pre-installed on your computer when you
purchased it ), or a full retail version ( a version bought in a software store that is not an
upgrade version ), you have one more step to follow other than the directions listed above.

The OEM/Retail version of windows checks to see if a version of windows is already installed. It
does this by checking to see if a copy of WIN.COM exists in your windows folder. If it detects
WIN.COM, it will stop installing, and give you an error, telling you to obtain the upgrade
version. To get around this protection, simply rename the win.com file to something else,
win.old is the reccomended name.

Now, we need to know how to rename the file. Type these commands at the command prompt:
cd C:\windows

ren win.com win.old

That should rename your version of win.com, and allow the OEM installer to install windows
without a hitch. It will even preserve your previous settings, as if you had installed the upgrade
version!

Go

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Networking
Main article: Computer network
Currently most operating systems support a variety of networking protocols, hardware,
and applications for using them. This means that computers running dissimilar operating
systems can participate in a common network for sharing resources such as computing,
files, printers, and scanners using either wired or wireless connections. Networks can
essentially allow a computer's operating system to access the resources of a remote
computer to support the same functions as it could if those resources were connected
directly to the local computer. This includes everything from simple communication, to
using networked file systems or even sharing another computer's graphics or sound
hardware. Some network services allow the resources of a computer to be accessed
transparently, such as SSH which allows networked users direct access to a computer's
command line interface.

Client/server networking involves a program on a computer somewhere which connects

via a network to another computer, called a server. Servers offer (or host) various
services to other network computers and users. These services are usually provided
through ports or numbered access points beyond the server's network address. Each port
number is usually associated with a maximum of one running program, which is
responsible for handling requests to that port. A daemon, being a user program, can in
turn access the local hardware resources of that computer by passing requests to the
operating system kernel.

Many operating systems support one or more vendor-specific or open networking

protocols as well, for example, SNA on IBM systems, DECnet on systems from Digital
Equipment Corporation, and Microsoft-specific protocols (SMB) on Windows. Specific
protocols for specific tasks may also be supported such as NFS for file access. Protocols
like ESound, or esd can be easily extended over the network to provide sound from local
applications, on a remote system's sound hardware

This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality
standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (May 2009)
Installation (or setup) of a program (including drivers, plugins, etc.) is the act of putting
the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed.

Some software can be executed by simply copying it to a computer and executing it with
no further ado; no installation procedure as such is required. Other programs are supplied
in a form not suitable for immediate execution, and require an installation procedure.
Installation may include unpacking of files supplied in a compressed form, copying them
to suitable locations, tailoring the software to suit the hardware and the user's preferences,
providing information about the program to the operating system, and so on. The installer
may test for system suitability and available mass storage space.

Because the requisite process varies for each program and each computer, many
programs (including operating systems) come with a general-purpose or dedicated
installer – a specialized program which automates most of the work required for their
installation.

Some software is designed to be installed simply by copying their files to the desired
location, and there is no formal installation process. This was once usual for many
programs running under MS-DOS, Mac OS, Atari TOS, AmigaOS since early versions of
these operating systems and actually it is very common and "de facto" standard in Mac
OS X applications and is also used for many Windows applications. There are versions of
some operating systems which do not themselves require installation, and can be run
directly from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive, without affecting other operating
systems installed (but not running) on the machine. Examples are AmigaOS 4.0, Knoppix
Linux, MorphOS AmigaOS clone, or Mac OS 1-9.

Common operations performed during software installations include creation or

modification of:

• Shared and non-shared program