supporting windows 9x - university of kentucky

A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC

Fifth Edition

Chapter 12

Supporting Windows 9x

2A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition

Windows 9x Architecture



(continued)


Virtual Machines

Set of resources made available to an

application through predefined application

programming interface calls (APIs)

Multiple logical machines within one physical

machine


Virtual Machines (continued)


Installing Hardware with

Windows 9xUse Found New Hardware Wizard or run

installation setup program that is bundled with

device driver

View and change current device drivers from

Control Panel (Settings tab of Display

Properties window)

Plug and Play and hardware installations

Use Device Manager to uninstall


Plug and Play Hardware

Installation CriteriaSystem BIOS must be PnP

All hardware devices and expansion cards

must be PnP-compliant

OS must support PnP (eg, Windows 9x)

A 32-bit device driver (VxD) must be

available


Preparing for Software

InstallationWindows 9x can use both 16-bit and 32-bit

software

Check available resources

Protect original software

Back up the registry and system configuration

files


Installing Software

Use Add/Remove Programs icon from Control

Panel

After installation is complete and software is

working, update backup copies of:

Autoexec.bat

Config.sys

System.ini

Win.ini

Registry


Keystroke Shortcuts in Windows



(continued)


Device Manager

Gives graphical view of hardware devices

configured under Windows and the resources

and drivers they use

Used to:

Make changes

Update drivers

Uninstall device drivers

Print a report of system configuration


Windows 9x Startup Process


The Windows 9x Registry

Database of configuration information and

settings for users, hardware, applications, and

the OS

Hierarchical database with a treelike, top-to-

bottom design

Takes over essential functions of .ini files

Supports System.ini and Win.ini for backward

compatibility


How the Registry Is Organized

(continued)


Recovering from a Corrupted

Registry

Windows 95 backup of the registry

Maintains backup copy of the two registry files

Windows 98/Me Registry Checker

Automatically backs up registry every day

Keeps last five days of backups


Recovering from a Corrupted

Registry with Windows 98/Me


Modifying the Registry

Automatically

When a change is made in Control Panel or Device

Manager

When software is installed

Manually

Use Regedit utility


Using the Registry Editor


Troubleshooting Windows 9x

Problems that occur during installation

Problems that occur during the boot process

Problems that occur during normal Windows

operations


Troubleshooting the

Windows 9x Boot ProcessCheck and address any error messages

Boot in Safe Mode

Boot to command prompt using startup menu

Try booting from emergency startup disk

Try Fdisk


Tools for Troubleshooting Boot

Problems

System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe)

Device Manager

Automatic Skip Driver Agent (ADDA)

Windows 9x startup menu options (eg, Safe

Mode, command prompt)


Windows 9x Startup Menu

Options

Normal

Logged (\Bootlog.txt)

Safe Mode

Safe Mode with Network support

Step-by-step confirmation

Command prompt only

Safe Mode command prompt only

Previous version of MS-DOS


Command Prompt Only


Using an Emergency Startup

Disk for Troubleshooting


Troubleshooting Windows 9x

Hardware and Software

Isolate the problem into one of two categories:

Problems that prevent PC from booting

Problems that occur after a successful boot

Ask the user questions


General Tips for

Troubleshooting Hardware

Reboot

Check for intermittent memory errors using

memory testing software

Turn on device before turning on computer

Try device with another application


General Tips for

Troubleshooting Hardware

(continued)

Use Device Manager to:

Check for errors it reports about the device

Uninstall and reinstall the device

Check the Web for updated device drivers

Reseat, move, or replace expansion cards

Determine what changed since the device last worked


Troubleshooting Application

Software ProblemsAddress error messages

Read documentation

Considerations

Virus

Corrupted data files

Potential hardware problem

Corrupted configuration file


Troubleshooting Application

Software Problems (continued)

Uninstall and reinstall the software

Launch Dr. Watson

Restore Windows system files

Determine what has changed since software

last worked


Troubleshooting Slow

PerformanceConsider a lack of resources

Check hard drive; run ScanDisk and Defrag

Suspect a virus

Close applications not currently in use

Keep icons to a minimum

Clean up registry using Scanreg /opt command

Verify optimum caching

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