1. A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e
Chapter 16
Supporting Windows 9x/Me

2. Objectives Learn about the Windows 9x/Me architecture
Learn how to install Windows 9x/Me and how to install hardware and applications using Windows 9x/Me
Learn about the Windows 9x/Me boot process
Learn about tools to manage and troubleshoot Windows 9x/Me
Learn how to troubleshoot Windows 9x/Me
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

3. Introduction Microsoft considers Windows 9x/Me a legacy OS
Microsoft no longer supports this series of systems
Reasons for studying Windows 9x/Me
It is a great learning tool
It prepares you to understand more sophisticated OSs
Systems still used by many individuals and corporations
Topics to cover
How Windows 9x/Me is structured
How Windows 9x/Me interacts with software/hardware
How to troubleshoot Windows 9x/Me
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

4. Windows 9x/Me Architecture
Encompasses a number of releases:
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
Two components of the OS: shell and kernel
Shell
Relates to the user and applications
User component: manages I/O
Graphic Devices Interface (GDI): supports graphics
Kernel
Interacts with the hardware
Fulfills requests for service passed from the shell
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5. A Bridging of Two Worlds
16-bit processing on one side, 32-bit on the other
Four core components
VMM (Virtual Machine Manager)
Manages memory, virtual machines, program resources
IFS (Installable File System) manager
Takes care of all disk access
Configuration Manager
Configures all legacy and Plug and Play devices
The WDM (Win32 Driver Model) driver manager
Responsible for managing device drivers
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6. Figure 16-1 Windows 9x/Me is the bridge from DOS to Windows NT/2000/XP
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7. Figure 16-2 The Windows 9x/Me architecture as it relates to the user, software, and hardware
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8. Virtual Machines Application programming interface (API) call
Used by application to access hardware or software
Virtual machine (VM)
Set of resources made available through APIs
Analogy: virtual machines are like logical drives
Virtual machines allocated by OS based on need
DOS program: provided with its own VM
Windows 16-bit application: shares VM and addresses
Windows 32-bit application: shares VM only
General Protection Fault: caused by 16-bit programs
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9. Figure 16-3 An application is not allowed direct access to hardware but is allowed access to a list of predefined APIs
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10. Figure 16-4 Windows 9x/Me uses the virtual machine concept
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11. Virtual Memory Virtual memory: hard drive space acting like memory
Functions of Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)
Stores virtual memory in a file called a swap file
Moves 4KB pages into and out of physical RAM
Disk thrashing: caused by excess memory paging
Settings you can change in Virtual Memory dialog box
Minimum and maximum file size
The location of the swap file (Win386.swp)
Swap files can be placed on a compressed drive
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12. Installing Windows 9x/Me, Hardware, and Software
Topics to cover
Learn how to install Windows 9x/Me
Learn how to install hardware and applications
Reasons for learning how to install Windows 9x/Me
Need to install OS on replacement drive of an old PC
Reinstall an installation that has been corrupted
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13. Installing Windows 9x/Me
System requirements to verify:
Minimum/recommended hardware for Windows 9x/Me
Whether legacy device is supported in Windows Me
Whether software is compatible
Two kinds of setup CDs
Windows 9x/Me for a New PC (clean install)
Windows 9x/Me Upgrade (previous version must exist)
Clean install or upgrade
Clean install gives fresh start, ignores current settings
Upgrade carries settings forward, and is faster
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14. Table 16-2 Minimum and recommended hardware requirements for Windows 9x/Me
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15. Installing Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Choosing a file system
FAT16: 16-bit cluster entries allowing 65,535 clusters
FAT32: 28-bit cluster entries allowing more clusters
FAT32 drives are less likely to have slack
Installing a Windows 9x/Me as a clean installation
Prepare your system first; e.g., verify boot sequence
Install Windows 98/Me from a bootable setup CD
If PC does not boot from CD, boot from a floppy disk
Then insert the CD and enter D:\Setup.exe
When dialog box opens, follow onscreen instructions
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16. Installing Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Installing Windows 9x/Me as an upgrade
Prepare for installation; e.g., create a rescue disk
Start the PC, loading the current operating system
Close all open applications
Insert CD in CD-ROM drive or floppy disk in floppy drive
Enter the command D:\Setup.exe in Run Dialog box
Follow the instructions on the setup screen
Installation process from the setup screen forward
Four options: Typical, Portable, Compact, Customer
Installation logs: Setuplog.txt, Detlog.txt, Detcrash.log
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17. Figure 16-8 The opening screen of the Windows 98 CD provides links you can use to navigate the CD
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18. Installing Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Downloading/installing updates for Windows 9x/Me
Updates include service packs or patches
Microsoft is no longer updating Windows 9x/Me
Find previous updates at windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Use Windows Update on Start menu to access page
Configuring Windows 9x/Me Startup with Msdos.sys
Msdos.sys is a hidden, read-only system file
Msdos.sys has parameters affecting how the OS boots
You must change Msdos.sys file attributes before use
Table 16-3 (partially reproduced): details file contents
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19. Table 16-3 Contents of the Msdos.sys file options section
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20. Installing and Managing Hardware with Windows 9x/Me
Driver: interfaces application and OS with a device
Ways to begin device driver installation process
Install device, power on PC, launch install wizard
Run installation program on setup disk or CD
Download driver from Internet, run setup file
Scenario: view and change current video driver
Open the Control Panel and double-click Display
Go to Settings tab to view the installed display driver
To change driver, go to AvancedAdapterChange
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21. Figure The Windows 98 Update Device Driver Wizard enables you to install a new device driver for a previously installed device
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22. Installing and Managing Hardware with Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Plug and Play (PnP)
Specifications simplifying the installation of hardware
Criteria for use of PnP
The system BIOS must be PnP
All devices and expansion cards must be PnP-compliant
The OS must support PnP
A 32-bit device driver must be available
DriveSpace utility
Used to compress FAT16 volumes in Windows 9x
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23. Installing and Managing Hardware with Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Hard drive preventive maintenance
Disk Cleanup: used to delete nonessential files
Disk Defragmenter: used to defragment a drive
ScanDisk: checks files and folders for errors
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24. Figure 16-20 ScanDisk results
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25. Installing and Managing Software in Windows 9x/Me
Preparing for the software installation
Check available resources
Protect the original software
Back up the registry and system configuration files
Installing software
Open Control Panel
Double-click Add/Remove Programs
Insert software CD or disk in appropriate drive
Alternatively, download software file from the Internet
Follow directions on setup screen
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26. Installing and Managing Software in Windows 9x/Me (continued)
Troubleshooting software installations
Delete all files and folders under \Windows\Temp
Look for guidance in Readme.htm hypertext file
Supporting DOS applications under Windows 9x/Me
Access the Properties feature of DOS program file
Select Program tab and then click Advanced tab
Example: select Specify a new MS-DOS configuration
Changes are stored in program’s information file (PIF)
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27. Figure Properties sheets for a DOS application affect the way Windows 9x/Me provides an environment for the application
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28. Booting Windows 9x/Me Topics to cover:
Files that Windows 9x/Me uses when booting
Startup process in Windows 9x/Me
How an application loads at startup
Differences between Win 95 and Win 98/Me boot
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29. Files Used to Customize the Startup Process
Autoexec.bat and Config.sys
Contain settings for loading 16-bit drivers and TSRs
Supported for backwards compatibility with DOS
Initialization files (those with .ini extension)
Custom settings used to load Windows 3.x programs
Supported for backwards compatibility with Windows 3.x
You can edit text files with various tools; e.g., Sysedit
Comment line: information ignored by application
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30. Figure 16-22 Sysedit can be used to edit Windows system files
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31. Table 16-4 Windows .ini files
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32. The Windows 9x/Me Startup Process
OS loads in real mode, switches to protected mode
Initial real-mode files used: Io.sys and Msdos.sys
After initial steps, control passes to Vmm32.vxd
Five phases of the boot process
Phase 1: Startup bios bootstrap and post
Phase 2: DOS drivers and TSRS are loaded
Phase 3: real-mode VxDs are loaded
Phase 4: protected-mode switchover, PnP configuration
Phase 5: loading the remaining components
Some differences from Windows 95; e.g., faster boot
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33. Figure 16-24 Windows 9x/Me core components and the loading process
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34. Troubleshooting Tools for Windows 9x/Me
Items listed in Table 16-6 (partially reproduced)
Tools that monitor and improve system performance
Tools used to control the OS
Tools for troubleshooting
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35. Table 16-6 Windows 9x/Me system performance and troubleshooting tools
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36. System Monitor Monitors how system resources are being used
Items monitored
The file system
Memory
The kernel
Printer sharing services
Network performance data
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37. System Configuration Utility (Msconfig)
Used to reduce startup to core components
Similar to Safe Mode
How to access the System Configuration Utility
Enter Msconfig in the Run Dialog Box
How to isolate a problem using Msconfig
Select Diagnostic startup, click OK and restart PC
Next, select Selective startup from the dialog box
Methodically add items until the problem reappears
Source of problem is related to the last added item
A few alternatives: Registry Checker, CMOS setup
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38. Figure The Windows 98 System Configuration Utility helps troubleshoot Windows configuration problems
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39. Dr. Watson Used to troubleshoot problems running a program
Information logged by Dr. Watson
Detailed system information
Errors
Programs that caused errors
Using Dr. Watson
Start the utility
Reproduce the application error
Go to Diagnosis tab to view events
Cross-check information to support.microsoft.com
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40. Figure 16-28 The Dr. Watson opening window
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41. The Windows 9x/Me Registry and Registry Checker
Database of configuration information and settings
Takes over the essential functions of .ini files
16-bit applications cannot access the Registry
Organization of the Registry
Hierarchical database appearing as an inverted tree
Six major keys appearing in the left pane
Values and value data appear in the right pane
System.dat and User.dat
Files used to store the Windows 95/98 registry
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42. Figure 16-29 Structure of the Windows 9x/Me registry
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43. Table 16-7 Six major branches, or keys, of the Windows 9x/Me registry
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44. The Windows 9x/Me Registry and Registry Checker (continued)
Ways to recover registry data in Windows 95
OS replaces System.dat with backup System.da0
OS enters Safe Mode and prompts recovery process
If backups are missing, restore registry from setup disk
Ways to recover registry data in Windows 9x/Me
Recover using backups made by Registry Checker
Registry Checker types: Scanreg.exe, Scanregw.exe
Modifying the registry
Automatically performed in most cases
Manually edit the registry using Regedit.exe
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45. Troubleshooting Windows 9x/Me
Problems are categorized by phase of OS operation
Windows installation
Startup process
Normal Windows operations
Troubleshooting techniques are tailored to problem
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46. Troubleshooting Windows 9x/Me Installations
Table 16-9 lists problems and possible solutions
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47. Table 16-9 Some problems and solutions when installing Windows 9x/Me
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48. Table 16-9 Some problems and solutions when installing Windows 9x/Me (continued)
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49. Troubleshooting Windows 9x/Me Startup
Deciphering error messages occurring during boot
Refer to Table in text
Search support.microsoft.com
Tools used to troubleshoot boot problems
Msconfig: used to attain cleanest possible boot
Device Manager: disables problem device
Automatic Skip Driver Agent (ASDA): skip driver install
Try troubleshooting options in Safe Mode
Troubleshoot from command prompt
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50. Troubleshooting Windows 9x/Me Startup (continued)
Press F8 during startup to open startup menu
Windows 9x/Me startup menu options
1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe Mode
4. Safe Mode with network support
5. Step-by-step confirmation
6. Command prompt only (not in Windows Me)
7. Safe Mode command prompt only (not in Win Me)
8. Previous version of MS-DOS
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51. Figure 16-33 Windows 98 Safe Mode desktop
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52. Troubleshooting Windows 9x/Me Startup (continued)
A few tips for troubleshooting with the startup menu
Try a hard boot
If you have not already done so, try Safe Mode next
Look for errors using Step-by-Step confirmation
Use Logged option and examine Bootlog.txt
Using the startup disk for troubleshooting
If the emergency disk is not available, make one
Check disk for viruses before inserting it into PC
Disk should have drivers needed to access CD drive
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53. Troubleshooting Problems After Windows 9x/Me Startup
A few questions to ask the user
When did the problem start?
Did you move your computer system recently?
Has someone else been using your computer recently?
Some general tips for troubleshooting hardware
Try rebooting the computer
Test the device with another application
Check Device Manager for errors reported on device
The driver might be corrupted or need updating
Try reseating an expansion card
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54. Troubleshooting Problems After Windows 9x/Me Startup (continued)
Some tips for troubleshooting application problems
Address error messages appearing during program use
Try uninstalling and reinstalling the software
Some tips for troubleshooting a shortcut icon
Decide if the icon on the desktop is actually a shortcut
Check name and location of target file for the shortcut
Some tips for troubleshooting a slow system
Check for applications unnecessarily loaded at startup
Verify Windows is using optimum caching on hard drive
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55. Figure 16-36 Verify that the hard drive is set for optimal caching
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56. Troubleshooting Problems After Windows 9x/Me Startup (continued)
Table lists some error messages and tips
Accessing Windows Help
Click Start and click Help
Click Troubleshooting
Resources at support.microsoft.com
Device information
Error message
Windows utilities
Application information
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57. Table 16-12 Error messages when using Windows 9x/Me
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58. Figure 16-37 Troubleshooter making a suggestion to resolve a hardware conflict
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59. Summary
Windows 9x/Me bridges worlds of 16-bit processing and 32-bit processing
Two main OS components: kernel and shell
API: specifies how application interacts with hardware
Virtual machine: set of resources provided to program
Virtual memory: hard drive space acting like memory
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60. Summary (continued)
Types of installation: clean installation, upgrade install
Msdos.sys: file containing parameters for OS boot
Hard drive utilities: Disk Cleanup, Disk Defragmenter, and ScanDisk
Registry: database containing configuration and settings for all system components
Troubleshooting tools: System Monitor, Msconfig, Dr. Watson, Registry Checker
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