Dual Boot Between Windows 95 and Windows 3.x Installing the Operating Systems Michael Hayman
After maximizing your Hard Drive, it's time to re-install your Operating Systems and applications. First, decide what Operating Systems you want to boot. If it's just Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 that you'd like to boot, read on. If you'd like to boot more Operating Systems via NT's boot loader, click here.
Clean Installing Windows 95
Many people have reported that doing an install of Windows 95 over your existing Windows 3.x can cause some performance problems.
Advantages of a clean install:
Possible performance boost;
Files left from old unused Windows programs (.INI, .DLL files) are removed;
New SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI created.
Disadvantages of a clean install:
You must re-install most, if not all of your Windows programs.
Windows 95 is a completely new Operating System, not an upgrade.
In other words, you should get rid of your old Windows folder (after backing up essential files, of course - for example - your CD-ROM drivers) because there is a build up of old Dynamic Link Libraries and Initialization files which can suffocate Windows 95. You should only perform this action if you have your Windows 3.x disk 1 handy. Alternatively, install Windows 95 into a fresh folder. The former is the better option if you still possess all of your installation disks and drivers.
If you're like most users, you upgraded to Windows 95 by installing it on top of the Windows 3.x foundation. This is no doubt the simplest upgrade route, but it means carrying some excess baggage in the form of various Windows 3.x files that you no longer need. With a little analysis, and a lot of luck, you can discard some of that accumulated "stuff," but there's still only one proven method to get rid of it all.
Re-format Your Hard Drive
One of the "perks" of software beta testing is that you get to completely trash your system on a regular basis. And with all due respect to the assorted sages who preach from the gospel of regular backup, sometimes the easiest way to recover from such disasters is to ignore all good counsel and just start over. Even if you have not yet demolished your own configuration by installing some not-quite-ready-for-prime-time application, you still may have encountered the ghosts of configurations past returning to haunt your new Desktop. In such cases, there's nothing like a good FORMAT C:, which remains one of the surest methods known to mankind to exorcize the evil software spirits. Although some regard this as the binary equivalent of curing the disease by killing the patient, it's effective, and with a bit of effort, the patient can be un-killed later on, as has been discovered many times.
The following is a step-by-step procedure that includes a complete strip-down of whatever is currently on Drive C, which means that you'll need a boot diskette with CD-ROM drive support. You may not need, or want, to follow all the steps, so just choose those that are appropriate to your system.
Before Going Forward, Back Up
Of course, you'll want to back up and restore your critical documents and other files. However, the odds are good that your current configuration contains at least a few essential files that you won't be aware of-until they're gone. So go ahead and do the full backup, even though you know you'll never need it. With luck, you won't. After your backup tape has collected six months or so of dust, you can consider scrapping it.
Next, format a boot diskette. Use Windows 95 for the format procedure, by opening Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel and going to the Startup Disk tab. Otherwise, use whichever DOS version is handy. Note that it doesn't matter which DOS version you use. If you plan to eventually configure the system to dual-boot into either Windows 95 or DOS 6.x, then make sure you also have a formatted system diskette containing that version of DOS. You won't necessarily need it for booting, although you certainly can use it for that purpose. But you will need the system files on it, as will be explained later.
When you eventually boot from diskette, you'll want your CD-ROM drive and other critical devices to be enabled. One way to make sure the boot diskette has all the necessary support files on it is to copy the CONFIG.DOS and AUTOEXEC.DOS files to the diskette, then rename them as CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. In case of doubt, just type VER at any command prompt, and make sure the reported DOS version doesn't mention the magic words "Windows 95." If your system is currently running in MS-DOS 6.2 or earlier, then the existing CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files can be directly copied to the boot diskette.
Once the correct CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are on the diskette, review the contents of each, line by line. For each line that cites a drive letter and path- and filename, copy the cited file to the diskette and then delete the drive letter and path from the file. Thus, your CD-ROM device driver line would be edited as shown here:
Before: device=X:whatever.sys /d:MSCD001
After: device=whatever.sys /d:MSCD001
The character string following the /d switch may vary from that shown here, and there may be additional switches on the command line. Just make sure you remove the drive letter and path, and nothing else, from the line. When you edit AUTOEXEC.BAT, make sure the MSCDEX line is correctly edited (as above) and that the MSCDEX.EXE file is copied to the boot diskette.
Remove any line that loads mouse-support software, SmartDrive or any other disk-caching system, all of which you no longer need because Windows 95 takes care of those tasks. If you already know that Windows 95 will recognize a currently installed adapter card (network, sound card and so forth), then you might also remove the line that supports that card, and not bother copying the cited file to the diskette. In case of doubt, take the cautious route: Copy the cited file to the diskette, but also disable the line in CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT by typing REM at the beginning of the line. If you subsequently discover the line is needed, delete the REM to re-enable it.
A Few Other Critical Files
You may want to copy one or more of the following files to the diskette, for the reasons given below. In each case, make sure you copy the file version that matches the operating system on the boot diskette.
ATTRIB.EXE: It's convenient to have this file available in case you need to clear or set attributes on various system files.
DEBUG.EXE: If you're not sure you need this one, then you don't. But if you regularly use it to perform minor emergency surgery, this is a reminder not to overlook it.
EDIT.COM: This is useful if you must make an unexpected edit during the general procedure. If you're using an MS-DOS 6.2 or earlier boot diskette, copy QBASIC.EXE to that diskette, since EDIT.COM needs it to do its work in those versions.
EXTRACT.EXE: This file (currently in the C:WINDOWSCOMMAND folder) is helpful if you need to extract a file from the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Otherwise, there's no need for it at the present time.
FDISK.EXE: You'll need this file if you're going to partition (or repartition) your hard drive as part of the general cleanup procedure. There is, however, no need to run FDISK.EXE if your current partitioning scheme is satisfactory.
FORMAT.COM: You'll need this if you're going to format Drive C after booting from the diskette and before installing Windows 95.
SYS.COM: This file may also be convenient if you're using a Windows 95 boot diskette, in case you need to transfer the Windows 95 system files to the hard drive. Otherwise, you won't need it, because there's no reason to transfer DOS 6.2 (or earlier) to the hard drive.
OTHER.EXT?: Are there any other files that you know you're going to need? If so, add them to your list.
Once you've backed up everything on the hard drive that you know you're going to want later on, then your patient is ready (almost) for the operation. But first, take a final look at the hard drive to make sure you've backed up every file that you might want later on. Assuming you've backed up the whole works anyway, you may still want to make straight one-to-one copies of a few critical files. For example, if you've used an electronic mail system, make an extra diskette copy of the files containing your recent messages and address book -- MAILBOX.PAB and MAILBOX.PST (or similar) -- just
