IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software 1 Chapter 5 Windows 9x Operating System

IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software 1

Chapter 5

Windows 9x

Operating System


Naming Files

•The terms directory and folder are used interchangeably to

describe a place to store information.

•Windows 3.1 and DOS file names are limited to eight letters plus

a three-letter suffix called an extension.

•Windows 98 and later allow extended filenames of up to 255

characters. Folder names use the same rules as file names.

•Never use these characters / \ ; : * ? " < > because they are

associated with special functions when executing commands

from a prompt. Legal or allowable characters include all other

characters and numbers available on a standard computer

keyboard.


Directories and Folders

•To understand files, folders, and sub-folders, imagine a tree.

The trunk is the starting place or the main part of the tree.

•Branches of the tree are folders. They connect to the trunk.

•Minor branches attach to these major branches as sub-folders.

•Files are like leaves attached to the major and minor branches

inside (attached to) folders and sub-folders.


Directories and Folders

•Windows Explorer displays the hierarchical structure of files,

folders, and drives on a computer.

•It can be found by clicking on the Start button to access the Start

menu, pointing to Programs and then clicking on Windows

Explorer.

•Alternatively, right click on the Start button and choose Explore

from the pop-up menu.


Windows Explorer


Recognizing File Types in Windows

•The following file extensions describe the file format or the type

of application that was used to create the file.

•*.doc – Microsoft Word or WordPad

•*.xls – Microsoft Excel

•*.dbf or *.dat – database files

•*.txt – ASCII text with no formatting (bold, underline, etc.)

•*.exe and *.com – executable programs

•*.sys – DOS or Windows driver files

•*.dll – Windows dynamic link libraries

•*.htm or *.html – Internet Hypertext Markup Language (web page)

•*.ini – Windows or other configuration files


System Properties

•The System Properties tool can be accessed from within the

control panel by double clicking the system icon.

•The system properties window includes four tabs across the top.

•General

•Device Manager

•Hardware Profiles

•Performance


System Properties

•General tab (default tab) lists information relating to the system. This

information includes operating system version, licensing information,

and system specifics such as processor type and the amount of

memory.

•Device Manager provides the user a list of all the hardware within the

system and allows the user to view which system resources are being

used. It can also be used to update device drivers, disable or enable

devices, and change resource settings.

•Hardware profiles allow the user to have different hardware

configurations for the same operating system.

•Performance tab displays information about the current system's

performance statistics and allows access to the virtual memory and file

system settings.


Add / Remove Programs

•Use Add/Remove Programs to remove programs that have been

installed, to install Windows specific components that weren't

installed initially, and to create a Windows startup disk.

•It is recommended that when you uninstall an application that

you go into the Add/Remove Programs utility and click the

"Uninstall…" button to uninstall the software.

•This will assure that the uninstalled application is removed from

the system together with all its associated pieces.


Registry

•The Registry is a hierarchical database that is an efficient

management system for all of the information needed by the

Windows operating system.

•The Registry is made up of two files:

•System.dat

• User.dat.

•The system.dat file contains information about the hardware in

the system. The user.dat file contains user specific information.


MSCONFIG.EXE

•MSConfig.exe is an excellent tool for users of Windows 98 and

ME. It is not included in Windows 95.

•MSConfig.exe allows the user to control how the system is

started by giving quick access to important Windows

configuration/initialization files, including Config.sys,

Autoexec.bat, System.ini, and Win.ini files.

•It also allows the user to select what programs are loaded

automatically when the computer is booted.


Partitioning a Hard Drive

•When a new hard drive is installed it is completely blank. There

are no spaces where files and folders can be stored. To create

those spaces, a hard drive must first be divided into logical

sections. These sections are called partitions.

•Typically with DOS, when the hard drive is divided into more

than one partition, the first partition is called to as the primary

partition, while the second is called the extended partition.

•DOS can have up to four separate primary partitions, or three

primary and one extended, two primary and one extended, or just

one primary and one extended partition on one hard drive,

depending on user needs.


Logical Drives

•When a hard drive is partitioned, including an extended partition,

the extended partition uses up all free hard disk space not

included in the primary partition(s).

•There can be only one extended partition per disk, but unlike the

primary, it can be subdivided into multiple (up to 23) sections

called logical drives.


FDISK

•FDISK is the partitioning program for MS-DOS, Windows 9x,

Unix, and Linux.

•. When a hard drive is partitioned, the FDISK program creates

the disk's boot sector.

•When the hard drive is formatted, the information to boot the

operating system is recorded in the boot sector.


Formatting the Hard Drive

•After the drive is partitioned, it must be prepared to store data. This

process is called formatting. Formatting a hard drive creates

magnetic tracks in concentric circles on the disk surface. These

tracks are then broken up into chunks of 512 bytes called sectors.

•The combination of two or more sectors on a single track is called a

cluster. A cluster is sometimes called a block. The size of each

cluster depends on the size of the hard disk and the version of DOS

in use.

•A cluster is the minimum unit DOS will use to store a file. This

means that even if a file is only one byte long, one whole cluster will

still be used to store the file.


File Allocation Table

•During formatting, a special file, called the File Allocation Table

(FAT) is created and located in the disk's sector 0.

•FAT is a reference table that the OS uses to locate files on the disk.

•Newer DOS versions actually provide additional protection by

storing a second (identical) copy of the original FAT created during

formatting at another location. The first copy is the normal working

copy while the second FAT is used as a backup measure in case

the contents of the first FAT become corrupted.


FAT16 & FAT32

•The original 16-bit FAT (called FAT16) is associated with DOS and

Windows 3.x

•When a hard drive is formatted for installation of DOS, the FAT is

created.

•A more efficient form of FAT(FAT 32), came with Windows 95

OSR2, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. These

operating systems are collectively known as Windows 9x.

•When formatted for the installation of Windows 9x, FAT32 is

created as the file system in the disk partition where the Windows 9x

OS is to be installed.


Types of Formatting

•A drive may be formatted at a low-level or high-level, depending on

the circumstances, although high-level formatting is more commonly

used.

•Low-level formatting routine marks off the disk into sectors and

cylinders, and defines their placement on the disk. (NEVER do a

low-level format on an IDE drive unless the drive has failed

miserably.)

•High-level format routine is performed by the format command

in MS-DOS. This procedure creates logical structures on the

disk that tell the system what files are on the disk and where

they can be found. A high-level format should be performed

when the hard drive is prepared for the OS installation.


Requirements for Installing Windows 98

•When installing Windows 98, the following requirements must be

met:


Troubleshooting Tools

•Safe Mode - In this mode, Windows loads only the basic devices it

needs to run. Once in Windows Safe Mode, check device manager

to ensure that there are no conflicts with any devices causing the

system to not operate properly.

•SCANDISK - Checks the surface of the disk and the files and

inform you of any errors found. As a rule, always run Scandisk

before the DEFRAG program.

•DEFRAG - It also attempts to pull together different pieces of the

same file scattered all over the disk so the files can be more easily

read by the system.



•FDISK /MBR – This undocumented MS-DOS command can be

very useful. MBR is short for Master Boot Record.

•Basically, it is the hard drive's table of contents.

•One common problem when the computer won't boot is that the

Master Boot Record has been corrupted.

•FDISK /MBR will rebuild this crucial OS boot record.



•From the Device Manager menu, it can be determined whether

there are any problems with installed devices on the system.

•Within the device, problem conditions are indicated by either an

exclamation mark, a red X, or an 'Other device' notation.

•An exclamation point (!) inside a yellow circle – A device is

experiencing a direct hardware conflict with another device.

•A red "X" appearing at the device's icon – The device has been

disabled, removed, or Windows is unable to locate the device.

•"Other Devices" appears in place of icon – Windows cannot

recognize the device being installed; either the drivers have not

been installed properly, they have been uninstalled, or the device is

not working correctly and the driver needs an upgrade.


Device Drivers

•Device drivers give today's PCs the ability to add a wide variety of

devices to the system. A device driver is software specially designed

to enable the computer to 'see' the hardware or devices installed

within the system.

•The device driver not only allows the basic system to recognize the

presence of a device, but actually enables it to work with the device.


Creating a Startup Disk

•A Windows 98 startup disk is essential if the system crashes,

hangs upon startup, or when Windows 98 setup fails before

completion.

•A Windows 98 startup disk is essential if the system crashes,

hangs upon startup, or when Windows 98 setup fails before

completion. The Windows 98 setup is easier with a Windows 98

startup disk. This section provides an overview of the Windows 98

startup disk, and how to make one. A Windows boot disk, also

called a startup disk, is simply a floppy disk that allows the user to

boot, or startup the computer without having to access the hard

drive. A typical Windows boot disk contains all the necessary files

that the operating system needs to get started.


Creating a Startup Disk

•A Windows 98 startup disk can be created in two ways.

•The first way is to insert the floppy disk in the computer when

prompted during setup.

•The second way is to create the startup disk after the Windows OS

is already installed and running. The Windows Startup Disk tab is

used to create a clean startup disk.

•Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs

--> Click the Startup Disk tab


Uninstalling Windows 98

Windows 98 can be uninstalled if…

•You upgraded from a previous version of Windows, for example,

from Windows 95.

•The 'Save uninstall information' option was selected during

Windows 98 setup. Note that when this option is selected, Setup

creates the Winundo.dat and Winundo.ini files that contain the

uninstall information.

Documents

IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software 1 Chapter 5 Windows 9x Operating System