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By now you are exploring the new possibilities and capabilities of Windows 95. One thing that seems to come up quite often is the subject of boot options. Can I make the system dual-boot between my old and new DOS and Windows? Is there any way to set up a multi-config setup like I used to have using DOS's multi-config? Can I set up any other options? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. However, many of these options aren't set up by default, so you have to configure your boot process the way you want it. The file you're looking for is MSDOS.SYS. Unlike its predecessor in earlier versions of DOS, it is now an editable text file you can use to configure your startup parameters. Getting into itYou can use any text editor to work with MSDOS.SYS. MS-DOS's Edit and Windows' Notepad are two readily available choices. (Edit, found in the \Windows\Command folder, now handles long file names!) As you start editing MSDOS.SYS, keep in mind that you may have to remove the Read-only, System and Hidden attributes to edit, then resave this file. Go to a DOS prompt and type: ATTRIB C:\MSDOS.SYS -R -S -HDon't forget to re-establish these attributes once you're done by typing: ATTRIB C:MSDOS.SYS +R +S +HWindows 95 Setup creates a hidden, read-only system file in the root of the computer's boot drive. (If you use DriveSpace or DblSpace disk compression, this file will be copies to the uncompressed area of the host drive.) This file contains two sections, Paths and Options. The Paths section tells Windows 95 where to find the Windows 95 installation location and other important files such as the Registry. The Options section is where you can add or change parameters to build a boot process of your choice. Under Options, you can specify Dual-Boot capability, set up a menu that will include various flavors of DOS and Windows boots, and even set up a timer that executes after a predetermined timeout. Looking insideWith a new install, your MSDOS.SYS file will most likely look something like this: [Paths]WinDir=C:\WINDOWS WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS HostWinBootDrv=C [Options] BootGUI=1 Network=1 Most, but not all, of the values in [Options] can be 1 (enabled) or 0 (disabled). Keep in mind that the parameters found in the [Paths] sections are crucial to the proper operation of Windows 95 and therefore should not be changed. Here are the various parameters and their descriptions: (Most values in the [Options] section are Boolean, that is, the value can be 1 (enabled) or 0 (disabled). The following describes entries in MSDOS.SYS, using the typical default values.)
Starting an earlier version of DOSIf you've installed Windows 95 in its own directory, the earlier version of MS-DOS is preserved on your hard disk. If you set BootMulti=1 in the [Options] sections in the Windows 95 version of MSDOS.SYS, you can start the earlier version of MS-DOS by pressing F4 when the Starting Windows message appears during system startup. If you are not using DrvSpace or DbleSpace disk compression, use the =0 switch for these parameters because not doing so results in the compression driver being loaded anyway, just because it was in C:\. That results in quite an unnecessary memory hit. Content of a sample MSDOS.SYS file look something like this: [Paths] Sample of MSDOS.SYS file that completely bypasses the "Starting Windows 95" message on startup and gives you the following menu: Microsoft Windows 95 Startup Menu (If you used a multi-config Boot under MS-DOS 6.x, that menu will be maintained when you choose to go to your 'old DOS.') Configurable menus within menus...pretty slick, huh? Otherwise you can use the 'speed keys' to go directly to your choice immediately after seeing the 'Starting Windows 95' message during boot. F4 will take you directly to you old MS-DOS; F5 will result in a speedy 'Fail-Safe' boot. What do these choices mean exactly? · "Normal" is Windows 95 itself, since it is now the OS. With this one you'll go straight to Windows. It even hides all your usual 'echoed' processes behind a pretty blue-sky background, complete with clouds and a moving, colored progress bar underneath. · "Logged" is a great troubleshooting feature. With this one you can boot to Windows as in choice 1 with one important difference. The boot process is recorded in a hidden BOOTLOG.TXT file in your root directory. This gives you a record of your last boot. It shows the loading (or failure to load) of all your device drivers, virtual device drivers (.vxds), and all of your fonts that load during Windows startup. · "Safe Mode" loads a bare-bones Windows with no unnecessary drivers at all. No networking, no sound, no CD-ROM, no fancy video configurations. What you get is a tripped Windows environment running in standard VGA 640-by-480-by-16 color mode, free of as much system overhead as possible while still allowing Windows to run. This is a real good place to be if you're trying to recover from a catastrophe. Let's say you do something really bad, like accidentally deleting GDI.EXE from \Windows. A subsequent boot attempt would fail, telling you that one of your crucial system files was either missing or corrupt. It would then give you the option to boot in 'Safe mode", giving you the opportunity to correct the error, even if it meant retrieving the missing file from your disks. This is one of the key differences between Windows 95 and OS/2. The operating system will either boot (without a set of boot disks) or it won't. In this case, Windows 95 always will and OS/2 simply won't. · "Safe mode with network support" loads a minimum Windows environment much like Safe Mode but includes network connections. · "Step-by-step confirmation" is yet another useful troubleshooting/setup tool. With this one you can load drivers individually to find an errant driver problem. Let's say you find you're running is MS-DOS Compatibility (real) mode, something you want to avoid at all costs, but you don't know for sure if one of your drivers is causing it. You can find out by loading each driver in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT until you find the culprit. · "Command prompt only" loads everything if finds in AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS, but instead of taking you directly to Windows 95, you wind up at a DOS (7.0) prompt with CD-ROM, sound, memory manager, video configuration, and so forth all loaded. Same OS, different interface. You can still get to Windows as you always did by tying WIN. · "Safe mode command prompt only" is a different story. This doesn't load anything; you go straight to a C:\prompt, completely bypassing AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS. This provides a 'clean boot' for the maximum in available memory. · "Previous version of MS-DOS" is self-explanatory. As long as you haven't deleted your old DOS directory, you can still boot to your old DOS. Get to workTime to go set up that custom boot process and become the envy of all your friends. But, as always, be careful and don't do anything before you've made a backup, and don't forget to use the copy of MSDOS.SYS on the uncompressed Host drive if you're using DblSpace or DrvSpace disk compression.  Return to Top of Page
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