Re-installing Win95

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George - 29 Jul 2003 15:58 GMT

Is there a place that shows in simple terms (or can someone offer here)..a
few simple steps to re-format c-drive, re-install Win95 from CD, and put in
basics like drivers.

Have older PC with Win95, planning to sell it. There's nothing
ultra-critical on it, there are only maybe 250 files, but just to be safe,
would like to *completely* erase data files (Word document, spreadsheets,
etc.). Are these the steps? Thanks.

-c:\format c:

-re-boot, insert Win95 CD, c:\setup.exe
(any special things to select or sprecify in process?

-Install monitor drivers (how?)

-install a basic printer (control panel>printers>add)?

-anything else

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Bill Starbuck - 29 Jul 2003 23:37 GMT

First, make sure you have a Windows Startup Disk for that computer. If
you do not have one, go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, and
create one.

Also make sure you have a DOS-level driver for the CD-ROM.

Boot the computer with the Startup Disk in drive A:

You should then be looking at a DOS prompt that says A:\>

> format c: /s
>
>-re-boot,

Add your CD-ROM driver to the boot disk. The boot disk might be drive
C: or it might be a Windows Startup Disk that you can insert into
drive A:.

The CD-ROM driver will normally have a name with the letters CD in it
and it will have the extension .SYS. One way to get a CD-ROM driver is
to run the installation program that came with the CD-ROM. Also, you
can usually get a driver from the web site of the companmy that made
the CD-ROM. Or you can search your C: drive for *CD*.SYS.

Using Notepad or any word processor, make a text file, name it
CONFIG.SYS and add it to the boot disk. This file should look like
this, but with the name of your CD-ROM driver in place of
CDDRIVER.SYS:
DEVICE=CDDRIVER.SYS /D:MSCD000
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS

Add a copy of MSCDEX.EXE to the boot disk. You can get MSCDEX from the
folder C:\Windows/Command.

Using Notepad or any word processor, make a text file, name it
AUTOEXEC.BAT and add it to the bootdisk. It should look like this:
MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000

> insert Win95 CD,

CD-ROM will be drive D:

D:\setup.exe or possibly D:\win95\setup.exe

>(any special things to select or sprecify in process?

Probably not. It depends on your computer.

>-Install monitor drivers (how?)

The problem is not the monitor but the video card.

You may be satisfied with what Windows does automatically. If not,
right-click on the desktop; choose "Properties" from the drop-down
menu; select "Settings;" click on the "Advanced" button; and click on
"Adapter". An adapter is a program that tells Windows how to deal with
a specific video card. Make note of the adapter that is currently
installed. Then, change the adapter to "Standard Display Adapter
(VGA)" and restart the system. This will remove the current adapter
and replace it with a generic VGA adapter that works with all video
cards. Next, return to the adapter screen and install an adapter that
matches your video card. This may or may not be the adapter that you
are using now. Examine the materials you received with your computer
to see if they include a CD-ROM or floppy disk that contains the
correct video adapter. If you need a video adapter, download one from
the website of the company that made the video card or the website of
the company that made the computer.

>-install a basic printer (control panel>printers>add)?

What printer?

Bill Starbuck (MVP)

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Jack Marks - 30 Jul 2003 01:38 GMT

I like Bill's answer, but it is absurd to reformat and try to get everything
running again. One is just asking for trouble. That's my opinion. Far
better to find the stuff you want to remove and VERY CAREFULLY remove it.
Take your time, making sure the computer continues to reboot every so often.
When it asks that this file may be shared, and do you want to remove it
anyway, say no. If you want to overwrite data that is on the hard disk
with zeros or something, then spend the money and buy a program to do that.
Just erasing stuff doesn't really erase it anyway, even though you
reformatted.

> First, make sure you have a Windows Startup Disk for that computer. If
> you do not have one, go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, and
[quoted text clipped - 69 lines]
>
> Bill Starbuck (MVP)

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glee - 30 Jul 2003 02:29 GMT

What you are describing is uninstalling programs, which is not what the original post referred to. He wishes to remove his personal data files (spreadsheets, Word docs, and so forth). Simply deleting them is not enough. Also, there will be innumerable references to personal information in the Registry, and the only reasonable way that is going to be cleaned out is by formatting and reinstalling.

...glen
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems

> I like Bill's answer, but it is absurd to reformat and try to get everything
> running again. One is just asking for trouble. That's my opinion. Far
[quoted text clipped - 78 lines]
> >
> > Bill Starbuck (MVP)

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Jack Marks - 01 Aug 2003 23:14 GMT

So is there a way to make the new boot disk, with all the good stuff on it,
BEFORE one reformats a perfectly good, running, Windows 95 machine, so that
one does not have all the problems, searching the manufacturer's web sites,
etc., that you describe? Only makes sense to me.

What you are describing is uninstalling programs, which is not what the
original post referred to. He wishes to remove his personal data files
(spreadsheets, Word docs, and so forth). Simply deleting them is not
enough. Also, there will be innumerable references to personal information
in the Registry, and the only reasonable way that is going to be cleaned out
is by formatting and reinstalling.

...glen
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems

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