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Windows 98 Upgrade Guide |
NOTE: Much of this is taken from "Win98: Upgrade Guide" at http://www.winmag.com/
Over the past few months, we've installed Windows 98 more than 100
times on dozens of PCs and notebooks. Now our pain is your gain.
We serve as your experienced guide, helping you steer clear of all the possible pitfalls by showing you how to install Win98 right the first time. Once you've read this guide, you'll know how to make the right decisions based on your needs. And with our timesaving tips, you'll breeze through the upgrade.
Win98 is no NT, but it's noticeably more reliable than its predecessor. Given how much your operating system affects your productivity, there are only two reasons not to upgrade: You're happily using NT 4.0, or you're content with your current OS and plan to upgrade to NT 5.0 when it becomes available (Microsoft is now saying year's end).
If your plan was not to wait and to insta ll NT 4.0 instead, forget it. You can't get to NT 4.0 from Win95 without starting from scratch. But Microsoft says you'll be able to upgrade to NT 5.0 from both Win95 and Win98.
As for Win98, you can upgrade not only from Win95, but also from MS-DOS and Win3. x (see the chart, " The Roads Ahead "). So, if you're ready to take the plunge, grab your upgrade CD and position these pages beside your PC.
Before you pop in the CD, save yourself tons of aggravation by completing these 12 steps.
1. Make sure your PC meets system requirements . Microsoft says you'll need a 486DX2/66 or faster CPU with at least 16MB of RAM. Our tests corroborate this.
2. Back up your data. Create a folder called Document on your local drive and place all your data files there. Store all your documents there or in another separate file-not with their associated applications. Back up all data files onto another hard disk or some form of removable media.
3. Create a Win95 start-up disk. If you don't already have a Win95 start-up disk, make one (see " Clean Install the Old Fashioned Way ").
4. Uninstall antivirus programs. Remove all antivirus and terminate-and-stay-resident programs that may be loading from DOS. And be sure to remove any references to antivirus programs in AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and WIN.INI. This disables any antivirus routine your system BIOS may run.
5. Remove Stacker disk compression. Win98 is incompatible with Stac's Stacker 4.1 and earlier disk compression. This is no longer a shipping product, but if you have it on your system, we recommend you get rid of it. Although Microsoft's DriveSpace is compatible with Win98, we recommend removing this, too, because you can't run it with FAT32.
6. Remove nonessential apps. Remove any programs you won't be using any time soon, as well as any folders or directories you no longer need.
7. Free up hard disk space. Win98 requires anywhere from 120MB to 295MB of hard disk space, depending on your system configuration, the options you choose, and whether you're installing fresh or over an existing Windows OS. The setup process requires 50MB of temporary storage space for file decompression. The typical upgrade from Win95 requires a total of 200MB, depending on your system configuration and the options you choose, whereas the average clean installation requires 225MB on a FAT16 drive and 175MB on a FAT32 drive.
8. Consider converting to FAT32. If you're running Win95 OEM Service Release 2 or higher, and you want to convert to FAT32, it may be wise to convert in advance. Tha t way, you can keep FAT32 if you ever decide to uninstall Win98 (see the sidebar " Look Before You Leap into FAT32 ").
9. Have device drivers at hand. Locate all your original Win95 device drivers, such as those for sound, video, network cards, printers and other peripherals. Win98 ships with more than 1,200 new drivers, but it pays to be prepared.
10. Run ScanDisk. The disk scan Windows setup runs only detects errors, it doesn't fix them. It's best to fix them in advance. To disable Win98 setup's disk scan, launch setup either at the command prompt (for clean installs) or from the Run dialog (from Windows) using the SETUP/IS switch.
11. Free up a few hours. It takes about an hour to upgrade to Win98 and about an hour and a half for a fresh install, if all goes well. It's best to leave yourself 2 to 3 hours in case you run into trouble.
12. Start fresh. There's no better time to give your PC a fresh start than when you're m oving to a new operating system. That's why we recommend you opt for a clean install. It means more preparatory work, it takes longer and can sometimes require fiddling around with device configuration, but in the long run, it's worth the extra effort-especially if you're running Win3. x , or if your Win95 installation was an upgrade of a previous Win3. x installation. Besides, Win98 runs better when you've installed it fresh.
Microsoft considers anything you do with the Win98 Upgrade CD an upgrade, even if you're installing it onto a blank formatted hard disk that has the bare minimum MS-DOS files required to boot to a C: prompt. So if you own a Microsoft OS, you don't need the Windows 98 full install version, which has a list price of $209 and is almost impossible to find anyway. (Note: You may be prompted to insert the first floppy disk of a Microsoft OS to prove you're upgrading.)
The key to a smooth upgrade from Win95 is the preparation. Mainly you're preparing the Registry, system resources and your hard drive. Proper groundwork should take only 10 or 15 minutes and could save you hours of backtracking out of a setup gone bad.
As you perform these preinstallation steps, remember to reboot whenever you make a system change, such as installing or uninstalling a program or adjusting something. This saves a version of the Registry and tests the last action you made to ensure it worked.
Extra baggage is not a good thing during an upgrade, so remove as much of it from your hard drive as possible. If you're not going to do a clean installation, freshen the current one to within an inch of its life. Clear out files you're sure you don't need-temp files, newsgroup caches, outdated backups and the like. And clear your browser of its cache and history files.
Setup installs a base version of IE 4.0, so if you already have it on your system, uninstall it. Your Favorites and some settings will be retrieved, but if you use Outlook Express you may have some configuring to do later. If you end up losing items from IE 4.0, connect to the Internet using Windows Update (on the Start menu) to download optional components. You'll also find Windows and driver updates.
You should also uninstall Microsoft's unsupported PowerToy, TweakUI, if you have it. You'll find a new version of TweakUI in the Tools\ResKit\PowerToy folder on the CD. In fact, it's a good idea to remove all the PowerToys while you're at it. Do the same with software for Microsoft's IntelliMouse. Win98 offers native support for the IntelliMouse. You'll find entries for both those applications in Control Panel's Add/ Remove Programs applet.
If you've changed Win95's Virtual Memory settings from the default, which lets Windows control the size of your swap file, return control to Windows (Control Panel/System/Performance/Virtual Memory). You should also check Device Manager to make sure all your hardware is operating properly. If all is well, you'll see no red or yellow trouble symbols beside device entries and no duplicate entries. Also check Other Devices and Unknown Devices for improperly configured hardware.
Have you had trouble with your video hardware in the past? Some video cards, such as the popular Number Nine Imagine 128 Series 2, are known to crash Windows setup. If you expect trouble, either do a clean install or follow these steps: Select Control Panel/Display/Settings/Change Display Type. Under Adapter Type, click on the Change button and choose Show All Devices. Then select (Standard display types) on the left and Standard Display Adapter (VGA) on the right. Click on OK, then back on the Settings tab, reduce your resolution to 640x480 and your color d epth to 256 color. After you install Win98, you can restore the resolution and color depth. Win98 setup should reconfigure your device drivers for you.
Win98 setup will reboot most PCs three times as it performs an upgrade from Win95. Remove as many programs from your StartUp folder as you can, including screen savers, video adapter utilities, Advanced Power Management features, antivirus programs and application launch-boosting utilities. Any one of them can trip setup. After installation, you can reinstate any services you disabled, but we recommend you reinstall wherever possible.
Start by checking what loads at the DOS level on system start. Use Notepad to open your CO NFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in turn. If you see anything suspicious loading there, comment it out by inserting the characters REM followed by a space at the beginning of that line. Reboot to make sure you haven't disabled anything important.
Next, examine your StartUp folder (Start/Programs/StartUp). If you see any program icons there, create a new folder called StartUp Hold and move the icons into the new folder for the time being. You can reinstate them after Win98 setup. Open your WIN.INI file in Notepad and search for the LOAD= line. Any program appearing on that line launches whenever Windows loads. You should see as few program icons in the System Tray (that rectangle inset on the right side of the Taskbar) as possible.
Some programs aren't launched automatically from the StartUp folder at boot-up, but instead get their marching orders from a Registry entry. You may need to adjust the properties for such programs to disable them. Usually that's done by right-clicking on their Sys tem Tray icons and choosing Properties, Settings or Options. Some services don't offer this option, though. If you have one that doesn't, you can leave it as it is, uninstall it (if that's an option) or follow the steps in the tip Abort the Launch.
It's not always obvious that programs launch automatically at startup. If you're not sure which programs are running, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete once to open the Close Programs box. It shows a list of all running programs and lets you exit them individually. Close Programs serves two purposes: It provides the eight-character version of the program name, which simplifies tracking it down, and it temporarily ends the program during the current session. You'd do this just before you start Win98 setup by selecting each program on the list (except Systray and Explorer) and clicking on the End Task button. Wait for the confirming dialog to appear before you select the next program. Now, without rebooting, run Win98 setup. Note: Be careful not to press Ctrl+Alt+Delet e while the Close Programs box is open. If you do, your computer will reboot.
You can install a Win98 upgrade of Win95 from within Win95. Just insert the CD and wait for the dialog that offers to install the newer OS version. If it doesn't appear, select Start/Run and enter your CD-ROM drive letter and then :\SETUP .
Part of the beauty of upgrading from Win95 to Win98 is how few decisions you have to make. Most occur during the first few minutes of the process. You have to accept the license agreement, of course, and enter the CD key (which you'll find on a label affixed to the manual or on the CD cover), and you have to create a Startup Disk. You don't have to make any decisions about options, because Win98 automatically chooses setup options based on how Win95 was configured. Once you press the button that sets the file-copying process in motion, you don't have to make any other decisions.
Except one. You'll be confronted with a screen that reads Save System Files? You simply choose Yes or No, but knowing what each choice really means in advance can prevent frustration later. So, let's take care of that. Save System Files is an option to back up all the files necessary to reinstate your previous Windows version, just in case you don't like Win98 or things have gone wrong on your system. We consider this the only real advantage of a Win95-to-Win98 upgrade over a clean install. This capability is not without trade-offs, however-it will cost you 50MB to 80MB of disk space. The three hidden files-WINUNDO.DAT, WINUNDO.INI and WINLFN.INI-are stored in your boot drive root directory (or that of any other local hard drive you select). You can later delete the backup by s electing "Delete Windows 98 uninstall information" from Add/Remove Programs.
Unless you were running FAT32 before you installed Win98, once you convert to FAT32 using Win98's Drive Converter utility (see the sidebar "Look Before You Leap into FAT32"), you won't be able to uninstall Win98. You also can't uninstall if you compress your hard drive using DriveSpace after you install Win98. You won't be able to Save System Files during setup if you're installing to a new directory, performing a clean install, installing to a compressed drive or running a version of MS-DOS that's older than 5.0.
This is the way to go if you want the ability to fine-tune Win98, but it's not for the neophyte . You'll need to spend more time preparing, and you'll need to figure a way around possible stumbling blocks. If you're an intrepid problem solver-or know an experienced user who's willing to come to your rescue-there's probably no better way to learn how your PC works. But be forewarned: We can't possibly take into account every PC configuration or user situation here. If you're not prepared to work your way through the difficulties you may encounter, go the upgrade route.
Still with us? Then let's get started. First, you don't have to repartition and reformat your hard disk. In fact, we don't recommend it unless you think there's something wrong with it.
Start the prep process from within your previous version of Windows. Uninstall every application that has an uninstall routine, either in Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs or from an uninstall routine located in the program folder. It's not absolutely necessary to uninstall your apps, but you will have to reinstall them when you've fin ished the Win98 setup anyway. You're uninstalling them for two reasons: It saves you a small amount of disk space with some apps, and it will make uninstalling apps in the future go more smoothly. Also be sure to empty browser and newsgroup caches before you uninstall them.
Don't delete the programs' directories, though, because they contain remnants of your uninstalled applications. These include configuration information, data and connection information for e-mail or browsing applications. Reinstall your applications back into these directories once Win98 is up and running. Don't delete any drivers or system files your PC manufacturer supplied or any other files you've come to know and love. Back up all data files, and anything else that's irreplaceable.
The next step may surprise you. There's no need to laboriously prepare to boot to either your hard drive or a boot floppy disk with DOS-level CD-ROM drive support in order to run setup from the command line. Instead, copy large chunks of the CD right onto your hard drive. That way, you can run setup right from your hard drive instead of from the CD. You'll need at least 105MB of extra space on your hard drive. If you can spare it, you won't need your CD to configure things later. Otherwise, you can delete the files after installation. If this method isn't going to work for you, see the sidebar " Clean Install the Old-Fashioned Way ."
To copy the setup files and install from your hard disk, use your previous version of Windows to create a Win98 folder in your root directory, and inside that, create an Options folder. Insert the CD, and decline to install it when prompted. Choose the Browse This CD option, and open the Win98 folder on the CD. Select all the files in that folder, leaving out the four folders you'll see there. Copy the files to the new C:\WIN98\OPTIONS folder.
If you can spare some disk space, even temporarily, the safest next step is to keep a copy of your entire Windows folder. If you can't, prepare to eliminate your Windows folder and everything in it. First, examine the folder for files you may need. For instance, older versions of Microsoft Outlook store OUTLOOK.PST, an important user data file, in the Windows folder. (It may also be in the new Application Data folder in your Windows folder.) Copy or back up these files and folders to another location.
Whether you opt to delete or save your previous Windows installation, the easiest way to do either one is from DOS.
If you're deleting your old Windows installation, locate the DOSDELTREE.EXE file (\WINDOWS\ COMMAND or \DOS DIRECTORIES) and copy it to your root directory. Restart your computer, press F8 when you see Starti ng Windows 95... and choose "Safe mode command prompt only." When you get to the C: prompt, type DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS and press Enter.
Now, go make yourself a cup of coffee because this is going to take a while. Later, when you're all set up, you can delete the DELTREE.EXE file from your root directory.
If you're saving your previous Windows installation, type REN C:\WINDOWS WIN95 (or WIN31 ) and press Enter. Don't use a drive or path statement in the destination name with the REN(ame) command.
Now, regardless of whether you're deleting or saving, type REN C:\WIN98 WINDOWS and then press Enter. That will convert the Win98 directory you created earlier to the main Windows directory.
The installation process will progress rapidly from here, partly because your hard drive is faster than a CD. At the command prompt, type CD \Windows\Options and press Enter. Now type setup and press Enter. One of the first screens you'll see is Select Directory. Pay close attention to this screen because the default action will likely suggest you install to some directory other than C:\WINDOWS. And if you've got a previous Windows version on your boot drive, it's going to try to install into that directory no matter what you've called it. Tell it you want to install to C:\WINDOWS. After that, you'll get one or two ominous confirmation warnings to which you must reply Yes.
On the Setup Options screen, choose Typical. There's a long list of new optional programs and modules, most of which have been available as updates or in later versions of Win95, in the Plus Pack, in Internet Explorer or in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Starter Kit. A few are new, such as Web TV for Windows. But you can always explore them after you've completed the upgrade from the Windows Setup tab of Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog.
Also See: Win 98 Second Edition Updates
(SR2)
And Setup. Do It Right The 1st Time!!
No matter how you installed Win98, now's the time to check on setup's success. Start with Device Manager: Right-click on My Computer, select Properties and click on the Device Manager tab. If there's a problem, Win98 expands individual hardware areas to show any device bearing either the yellow exclamation point trouble symbol or the red X-mark disabled device symbol. It will also open the Other Devices item if it's detected unknown devices. Check Properties for any device with a pr oblem, and apply common sense. When you find trouble, it usually comes down to a handful of things. For instance, you may have multiple entries for the same device or a device contention problem (two pieces of hardware each trying to grab the same memory address or interrupt). Try Win98's Help or Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter.
Another common problem is that all-time favorite, No Driver Configured. Try installing the driver that came with the device in question, or if you upgraded Win95, try deleting the device in Device Manager and searching your Win98 CD for a driver. You might also try Windows Update. You'll find this Internet-based Windows system software and driver updating service on the Start menu. The hardware maker's Web site may also offer driver patches for Win98.
While you're in System Properties, look at the Performance tab. If there's a problem with your system, it may be reported on this page. If you see "Your system is configured for optimal performance," you should be al l set.
Other common trouble spots are video display adapters and monitors. If you're using full Plug-and-Play hardware, you should be fine. Some of the worst problems crop up when you have early PnP devices, or the latest and greatest display adapter, perhaps designed post-Win98. Usually, the display adapter is configured fine, but the monitor isn't. That's no big deal, but often the picture will be better if you configure the monitor, too. To adjust your video settings, right-click on the Desktop and select Properties/Settings/Advanced and then either the Adapter or Monitor tab. Each has a Change button that lets you select a new driver.
The single best post-installation adju stment you can make is to convert to FAT32, which is suitable if you're not using disk compression, you're happy with your Win98 installation, you performed a clean install, you didn't opt to save system files, and you have no intention of uninstalling Win98. The chief payback is a significant increase in available hard disk space. But before you rush in, see the sidebar " Look Before You Leap into FAT32 ."
The conversion process is simple, and Microsoft includes several checks and balances designed to make it as safe as possible. You'll find an icon for a wizard-like utility called Drive Converter (FAT32) in Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools. The process could take several hours, but that includes disk defragmenting, a necessary step the Driver Converter runs automatically. We ran it on one 2GB disk that was about half full of files, and it took less than 20 minutes. You can choose among local drives to convert, but you can convert only one hard drive at a time.
Once you select a hard drive, Drive Converter automatically checks for antivirus programs and other software that might conflict with FAT32. On the next screen, it offers to help you back up your files in advance with Microsoft Backup. Then it exits to MS-DOS mode, where it scans the disk for errors and does the conversion grunt work. When that's done, it relaunches Windows, runs Microsoft's Disk Defragmenter utility and issues a success statement.
Maybe it's a bit premature, but here's how to uninstall Win98 should the need arise. There's no automatic uninstall method for clean installs. Just follow the same steps you followed to prepare your system for a clean install, substituting t he installation process of Win95, NT or whatever OS you prefer.
If you upgraded an existing Windows installation and chose to save system files, you can uninstall Win98 and revert back to your previous version of Windows, provided you haven't used the Drive Converter to convert any drive on your system to FAT32 and you haven't installed disk compression since you installed Win98.
To uninstall Win98 to your previous Windows version, select Uninstall Windows 98 from Add/ Remove Programs. Be sure you don't select Delete Windows 98 Uninstall Information; that deletes your saved system files, making it impossible to uninstall Win98. The uninstall process entails confirmation and restarting of Windows. While passing through DOS on the reboot, Windows checks all files and directories, runs some conversions, reconfigures your previous OS and starts it.
If for some reason uninstall is unable to shut down Win98 to initiate the process, shut it down yourself by turning it off and on, if you have to. Once Windows loads, restart again. Hold down the Ctrl key while your drive is booting, and when the boot menu appears, click on Command Prompt Only, type UNINSTAL on the command line and press Enter.
The uninstall process isn't perfect. Some Win98 files and folders will be left behind, but nothing that inhibits the operation of your previous OS. In converting back to Win95, you may discover you've lost long filenames, usually in Start menu program folders. But this may be just a small bug in the late prerelease version of Win98 we used.
Here are your available Windows OS upgrade paths.
If you have: You can upgrade to:
Win3. x Win95, Win98, NT 4.0, NT 5.0
Win95, Win98, NT 5.0
Win98,
NT 5.0
NT 4.0,
NT 5.0
If you need to reinstall Win98, you don't want to have to create yet another emergency boot disk. To bypass the pr ocess, click on OK in the first dialog that asks whether you want to create a Startup disk. When the Insert Disk dialog appears, click on the Cancel button.
Turn off all Autolaunching
Programs
For a smoother Win98 setup, it's a good idea to stop all programs from autolaunching. Two System Registry keys are the most obscure places from which programs autolaunch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows \ CurrentVersion\RunServices
Or, far better; find them all!!!
Use 'Microsoft System
Information"
To find out where applications are being Started from:
1. Start Button
2. Programs
3. Accessories
4. System Tools
5. System Information.
6. Expand "Software Environment" click on "Startup Programs".
You can find them by running RegEdit and drilling down their paths. When you click on the last element in each of the keys, any programs configured to run at start-up will display in Registry Editor's right pane. You can disable them by deleting those right-pane items. Any changes you make to the Registry are permanent, so back up the Registry files first using Microsoft's Emergency Recovery Utility (in \Other\Misc\Eru on your Win95 CD). A good rule of thumb when editing the Run and RunServices keys is this: If you're not sure what it does, don't kill it.
Look Before You Leap
into FAT32
I say Fat32 1st
If you use Win98's Drive Converter utility to convert to FAT32 you don't have to worry, because the utility not only prevents you from converting back to FAT16, it also disables the Win98 uninstall feature. But then, like it or not, you're stuck with Win98.
So what should you do? Install FAT32 on your system before you upgrade to Win98. Uninstalling from Win98 FAT32 back to Win95B FAT32 carries no dangerous data risks, so you can have FAT32 and uninstall, too. Of course, you need Win95B to do that. To find out what version of Windows you have, right-click on My Computer, select Properties and look at the Windows version number. Unless it says something like Microsoft Windows 95 4.00.950 B, you have an older version. If you're not running Win95B, look around. You may have a license for it and not realize it. If you do, you'd be wise to install it before upgrading to Win98.
Even if you do have Win95B, you could still be running FAT16. You or your PC maker had to configure a disk to run FAT32 before formatting the hard drive. To find out whether you're running FAT32, double-click on My Computer, right-click on your hard disk and select Properties. Alongside Type, you'll see Local Disk FAT32 on FAT32 disks and Local Disk FAT on FAT16 disks. Repeat this check for each local hard drive shown in My Computer.
If you have Win95B (the OSR2.0 version) or newer and you're running FAT16, consider buying a FAT conversion utility such as PowerQuest's PartitionMagic. This utility, and others like it, can convert your drives to FAT32 without repartitioning or moving data (don't do it without backing up first), and it doesn't take long. But remember to defragment your hard drive afterward, because most files on the disk will be highly dispersed.
If you can't convert to FAT32 before you upgrade to Win98, your best defense is to save system files during setup so you can uninstall Win98. Don't convert to FAT32 right away; instead, wait days, weeks or even months to be sure you like Win98 and your installation is running well. When you're sure you're going to stick with Win98, you can convert.
Having trouble configuring a piece of hardware or software? You may find specific information on your equipment or software in your Windows folder's GENERAL.TXT file. The SETUP.TXT file in the \Win98 folder on your CD also provides valuable information on a variety of subjects, including deciphering error messages and a list of known conflicts.
Clean Install the
Old-Fashioned Way
If disk space is tight, this is the best way to perform a clean install.
Installing Win98 from your hard drive is a great time-saver-if you have about 105MB of hard disk space to spare. If you don't, you're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way-from the CD-ROM. You can perform a CD-ROM-based setup in several ways. We've chosen the system boot floppy disk method for its flexibility. You'll need to know DOS commands and syntax, because system configurations vary, and you may need to figure some th ings out on your own. If you're not sure you can handle this, stick with the upgrade-install method.
First, find your Windows emergency boot floppy disk. (If you don't have one, make one, following the steps shown below.) Next, enable CD-ROM access from DOS by locating and enabling the two real-mode (DOS) drivers for your CD-ROM drive. (If you're using Win3. x , those drivers are already running from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Win95 disables at least one of them in favor of faster virtual device drivers that work only in the graphical interface.)
One of the drivers, MSCDEX.EXE, is already on your Startup boot floppy. The other is specific to your CD-ROM drive, so its name will vary, but it has a SYS extension. You'll have to do a little sleuthing to find it. Look in your root directory for CONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.DOS, CONFIG.BAK and similar files. Open each in Notepad and look for a line like DEVICE=C:\CDROM\IDECDDRV.SYS /D:MSCD000. (SCSI CD-ROM drives often use the ASPICD.SYS driver, but there are many variations on that name and many other brands.)
If you're not successful, look for a directory of files provided by your PC maker using Win95's Find Files and Folders utility. Search that directory for folders with a SYS extension. The proper driver often has the letters CD somewhere in its name. If you're still having trouble, ask your PC maker where to find the driver.
Some newer PCs with Win95 preinstalled don't come with a real-mode CD-ROM driver, which means you won't be able to boot to DOS and access your CD-ROM drive. If you can't locate your CD-ROM's driver, try shutting down and restarting in MS-DOS Mode. Insert a CD-ROM, and see if you can access the drive at the command prompt by typing its drive letter followed by a colon. If that works, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to reboot and hold down the F8 key when you see Starting Windows 95.... When the boot menu appears, choose Command Prompt Only. At the C: prompt, type DOSSTART.BAT and press Enter. Now try accessing your CD-ROM drive again from the command prompt. If it doesn't work, your best bet is to clear away the extra hard disk space and perform the clean install from your hard drive.
Now, set up both CD-ROM drivers by copying the proprietary CD-ROM driver file to your Startup diskette. You'll be creating new CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on your Startup diskette. Using Notepad, open CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT from your hard drive's root directory, and save them with the same names to the Startup floppy disk. Add the following lines to CONFIG.SYS on the floppy disk: DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS (if it's not already there) DEVICE=your device driver name.SYS /D:MSCD000
Now add or modify the following line to AUTOEXEC.BAT:
MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /your CD-ROM drive letter
Because of the location change, you may need to edit the path statements of any other lines in the two DOS initialization files that call files on your C: drive. Note any path that refers to your Windows folder or its subfolders, because you'll be altering that folder in the next step. You'll either need to move those files to your floppy disk or to a new directory on your hard disk, and change the path names accordingly. Reboot to whichever disk you're preparing, then test the CD-ROM drive's operation from the command line.
Now, decide whether you want to delete or save your old Windows installation. If you have the hard disk space to save it, from the A:\ or C:\ prompt, type: REN C:\WINDOWS WIN95 (or WIN31 ) and press Enter.
To delete your previous Windows folder, examine it for files you might need (such as OUTLOOK.PST, if you're using an older version of Outlook). Copy or back up any important files and folders in your Windows folder, and type A:\DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS . Next, insert the Win98 CD-ROM into y our drive, and type your CD-ROM drive letter and then :\SETUP . Now, pick up with the steps concerning the Select Directory screen described in the main story under the "Do the Deed" subhead.
Creating an Emergency
Boot Diskette
Go to Control Panel/Add/Remove Programs/Startup Disk and copy DELTREE.EXE, MOVE.EXE, MSCDEX.EXE, XCOPY.EXE and XCOPY3 2.EXE from the \WINDOWS\COMMAND folder to your Startup disk.
Create a bootable system floppy disk and copy the following files from your DOS directory to the floppy: ATTRIB.EXE, DEBUG.EXE, DELTREE.EXE, EDIT.COM, FDISK.EXE, FORMAT.COM, HIMEM.SYS, MOVE.EXE, MSCDEX.EXE, SCANDISK.EXE, SCANDISK.INI, SYS.COM and XCOPY.EXE.
For a better way to find out which version of FAT you're running, download Microsoft's free FAT32 Conversion Information utility ( http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/basics/features/ faster/fat32.asp ). It tells you not only which FAT version you're running, but also how much disk space you'll free up if you convert to FAT32. Read about what the utility does, then access the download page by clicking the link you'll find called "FAT 32 Utility."
Disappearing Hard Disk
Can't see your hard disk when you start your PC from a floppy disk? If your hard disk is a FAT32 partition and you're using a Startup floppy disk from a version of Windows prior to Win95 4.00.950 B or Win98, Windows won't recognize it. You can update the system files on the floppy by booting to a drive with the newer OS to a command prompt, inserting the floppy and typing SYS A: , and pressing Enter.
Win98 setup doesn't automatically detect modems. To install one, go to Control Panel/Modems. That starts the Modem Installation wizard, which detects and configures both internal and external modems. If yours is external, make sure it's on and connected. PC Card modems install automatically when inserted (this requires protected-mode PC Card drivers).
Design Guidelines
Break New Ground
Accusations of arrogance aside , Microsoft's PC 98 guidelines offer much-needed leadership.
At the past few annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conferences (WinHEC), Microsoft has released a "design guide" for PCs. Some vendors and wags call this attempt to direct the PC industry arrogant, but the fact is the Redmond giant is providing much-needed leadership-especially now that it's partnered with Intel and Compaq for this process. Microsoft is able to enforce compliance by requiring vendors to provide systems and peripherals that meet the "Designed for Microsoft Windows" guidelines.
The PC 98 guidelines break more new ground than ever before. Most significant for users is the abandonment (finally!) of the ISA bus. The old 16-bit ISA bus is too slow and too stupid to allow for hot swapping of peripherals. In its place will be 64-bit PCI slots running at 66MHz or 100MHz. Separate specs exist for Workstation, Entertainment, Mobile and Ba sic PC designs. Realizing the expense, particularly in low-cost PCs, of implementing all the changes, Microsoft, Intel and Compaq will allow the ISA slots in PC 98-compliant systems as long as they're not user-accessible, or at least not used as shipped from the factory.
The baseline specifications for PC 98 compliance are these: 200MHz Pentium MMX processor with 256KB of level 2 cache, 32MB of RAM, SuperVGA resolution (800x600 pixels at 16-bit color depth), one USB port and no ISA devices. An IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port is recommended, as are two of the new Device Bay ports. Additional specs for the more specialized types of PCs include more RAM, MPEG-II capability and so forth.
Many of those changes were intended to coincide with full operating system support for new hardware technologies in Win98 (and NT 5.0). The highlights are Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) video, DVD, FireWire support, USB devices, Digital TV (and Digital Satellite TV) and Device Bay.
The coolest of those a re the new Device Bay ports. These ports, or bays to be more precise, come in three form factors, two of which are small enough to fit into notebooks. They'll allow hot swapping of peripherals into standard bays by means of USB or FireWire connectors at the back of the slot.
The deadline to be eligible for the "Designed for Microsoft Windows 98 and NT 5.0" logo is July 1, 1998, for standalone peripherals sold at retail. Because of the expense of implementing new motherboard designs, PC vendors are given a six-month grace period for full compliance. To ensure you're buying PC 98-compliant hardware, look for the "Designed for..." logo.
Planning for the PC 99 design guidelines is already under way, and you can download a so-called Version 0.7 of the PC 99 System Design Guide at http://developer.intel.com/design/desguide/ . The biggest propose d changes are upgrading the processor to a 300MHz Pentium II or equivalent, 2X DVD, complete elimination of ISA slots and a V.90 modem. Network interface cards will be required for corporate PCs, and recommended for consumer and entertainment PCs. To be a part of the review process for the new standard, sign up at the URL listed.
Dual Displays Double
Your Desktop
If you have two PCI or AGP video adapters and a spare monitor, MultiMon will let you expand your Desktop horizons.
Wouldn't you love to have just a little more space to spread out your apps? Sure that hulking 21-inch monitor expanded your display area, but resizing and shuffling windows around just to see three more lines of another application can be a real pane, if you'll pardon the pun. What you really need is a second monitor.
Win98's MultiMon feature lets you extend your Desktop across two monitors, giving you access to two maximized documents at a time. The monitors display two parts of a shared Desktop, and you can move your mouse pointer between them, dragging program windows, Desktop icons and folders. That way, you can keep your e-mail app, frequently used spreadsheet, scheduler or terminal emulation program on one screen, and your real work on the other.
All you need are two PCI or AGP video ada pters, the right drivers and a spare monitor. Your primary adapter need not support MultiMon, but your secondary adapter must. At press time, Microsoft's list of supported video hardware included most cards based on ATI's mach64, RAGE and RAGE PRO video chips; those based on S3's Trio64V2 and ViRGE chips; Cirrus Logic's CL-GD5436- and CL-GD5446-based adapters; Tseng Labs' ET6000 engine; and many flavors of the Trident chips. We tested with ATI's All-in-Wonder Pro and Graphics 3D Xpression+. Both cards use variations on ATI's 3D RAGE chip, which is a variation on the mach64.
To set everything up properly, turn off your PC, install your second adapter and connect your second monitor. When you reboot, Windows should initialize both cards and boot to the primary adapter and monitor. If everything is working correctly, the monitor you wanted as your primary will boot Windows normally, and the other will display a DOS screen with the message: "If you can read this message, Windows has successfully initial ized this display adapter."
Because your PC's BIOS determines which is the primary video card, Windows may boot to your secondary display. If it does, swap the order of the cards in their slots. If only one monitor displays anything, you may have a slot conflict; try moving one of the cards to a third slot. Another possibility is one of your cards doesn't support MultiMon or may need to have a jumper reset. Contact the manufacturer to find out.
Once both cards and displays are initialized, go to Control Panel/Display to configure your secondary video and monitor drivers. On the Settings tab, you'll see one monitor with the number 1 on it (your primary monitor) and another with the number 2 on it (your secondary monitor). Right-click on monitor number 2 and place a check mark beside Enabled to turn on MultiMon. Next, right-click on monitor number 2 to see its properties. (If you run into trouble, check the Adapter properties for monitor number 1.) Select the Monitor tab, click on Change and install the driver for your secondary monitor. As soon as you've configured and enabled both sets of video hardware properly, your secondary monitor will display your Desktop background color.
Microsoft warns some applications (it wouldn't say which) don't function perfectly in MultiMon yet. For instance, some program windows you drag to your secondary display may open on your primary display. Of the apps we tried, Word and Excel worked well; Eudora had a few minor problems. We'll have to wait and see if those problems are resolved in the shipping version.
Win98 creates a folder on your Desktop called My Documents. It corresponds with a directory on your hard disk whose path is C:\My Documents. That works better than the one installed by Office 97, but we still hate the name. Because this is the primary folder for all user data, we'd like it to have an eight-character name. Open your C: drive folder, right-click on My Documents, choose Rename and name it something like DOCUMENT. Right-click on the Desktop folder labeled My Documents and choose Rename. The name can be as long as you like, but we recommend something easy to remember, like DOCUMENTS. If you already have a folder like this and you'd like the My Documents Desktop folder to point to it, right-click on My Documents, select Properties, click on Browse and locate your folder. Now delete the My Documents folder from your C: drive.
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