& concept explained easily

1. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Chapter 7
Supporting Windows 9x/Me

2. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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3. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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4. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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5. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Table 7-2 Minimum and recommended hardware requirements for Windows 9x/Me
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6. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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7. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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8. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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 7-3 (partially reproduced): details file contents
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9. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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10. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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11. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Figure 7-20 ScanDisk results
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12. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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13. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Installing and Managing Software in
Windows 9x/Me (continued)
• Troubleshooting software installations
– Delete all files and folders under WindowsTemp
– 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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14. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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15. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Figure 7-22 Sysedit can be used to edit Windows system files
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16. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Table 7-4 Windows .ini files
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17. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Figure 7-24 Windows 9x/Me core components and the loading process
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18. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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19. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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20. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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21. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
The Windows 9x/Me Registry and
Registry Checker
• Registry
– 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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22. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Table 7-7 Six major branches, or keys, of the Windows 9x/Me registry
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23. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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24. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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25. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Table 7-9 Some problems and solutions when installing Windows 9x/Me
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26. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Table 7-9 Some problems and solutions when installing Windows
9x/Me (continued)
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27. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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28. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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29. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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30. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
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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31. A+ Guide to Software, 4e
Figure 7-37 Troubleshooter making a suggestion to
resolve a hardware conflict
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