
From: gordonf@vcn.bc.ca (Gordon Fecyk)
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.setup.win95,comp.os.ms-windows.networking.win95,comp.os.ms-windows.apps.compatibility.win95,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: Windows 95 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Part 3 of 14
Followup-To: comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.setup.win95,comp.os.ms-windows.networking.win95,comp.os.ms-windows.apps.compatibility.win95
Date: 14 May 1996 01:41:19 GMT
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Summary: These postings list many questions asked in said newsgroups,
         and answers them as best as I can.  I make references to other
         Web sites and FAQs when appropriate.  Visit the WWW home of
         this FAQ (http://www.intouch.bc.ca/win95) for the appropriate
         links.  This section is the 3rd one: Re-Installation
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Archive-name: windows/win95/faq/part03
Last-Modified: 1996/04/29
URL: http://www.intouch.bc.ca/win95/faq3.htm

3) Re-installing Windows 95 

Things to try before re-installing 
Things to do before re-installing to ensure good re-installation 
Top ten re-installation mistakes 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Things to try before re-installing 

Oh No! You installed some 16-bit program and it over-wrote too 
many Win95 system files! You need to re-install... or some other 
disaster makes you think you need to re-run Setup. 

Not. Win95 has a pretty good defense mechanism against 16-bit 
programs that replace system files, and other disasters. All key system 
files have a backup copy in %WINDIR%\SYSBCKUP (where 
%WINDIR% is where you installed Win95). Most cases, Win95 will 
detect that system files got over-written and it'll offer to copy Win95 
versions back. Let it do so! This includes any WINSOCK.DLL files 
(You should use Win95's dial up networking anyway, not Win 3.1 
dialers like Trumpet). 

If it doesn't do that, you can always copy them back yourself. Go into 
"Safe mode command prompt only" (Press F8 on "Starting Windows 
95..." then select said option), then: 

XCOPY C:\WIN95\SYSBCKUP\*.* C:\WIN95\SYSTEM

from the DOS prompt. 

Also, try editing SYSTEM.INI. Inspect the [386Enh] section for any 
additional "device=xxxxx.386" drivers. On a clean Win95 install, you 
shouldn't have ANY of these files. This goes double for any 
"vshare.386" files that show up; Win95 has a built-in *vshare driver. 
Removing old Win 3.1 386 Enhanced drivers will clear up many 
problems. 

If you get a "Registy corrupted" error of some kind, inspect your hard 
drive for errors by booting to "Safe mode command prompt only", 
then running DOS SCANDISK, which does come with Win95. On 
the requester that tells you to "Restore from backup and Restart", you 
can easily press CTRL-ESC to bring up the Win95 task manager, 
and run SCANDSKW.EXE to check the drive for errors. 
SCANDSKW does a better job of scanning Win95 drives, and it 
handles long filename problems better than SCANDISK does at the 
DOS prompt. Once it finishes, you can hit that button to restore the 
Registry and restart. However, if you continue to get this kind of 
error, start investigating your hard drive system. You might be 
over-driving your HD at Mode 4 when it's not designed for it, for 
example. Or maybe the drive's just on its last legs and dying. Do a 
back up as soon as you can! 

This Registry stuff is actually a good reason to use User Profiles. Each 
user will have their own copy of the second half of the Registry; the 
USER.DAT file. If the master USER.DAT gets ruined and you need 
to completely re-install, you can bring back your program settings for 
your 32-bit programs just by logging in as one of the users. Your 
hardware (SYSTEM.DAT) config is still toast, but you can rebuild 
that easy enough just by re-running the "Add new hardware" control 
panel. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Things to do before re-installing to ensure good re-installation 

Ok, the above techniques didn't work and you have to re-install. 
Here's what to do to make re-installing work best: 

Re-install from DOS, not from within Windows or Win95. This way 
it'll assume a fresh installation. 

From the DOS prompt, change to your %WINDIR% directory, and 
type this: 

ATTRIB -H -S -R *.DAT

This will un-hide the Registry files SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT. 
Then delete them. That's right, delete them. A corrupted Registry will 
cause no end of trouble until it's killed dead. If you have user profiles 
you can restore USER.DAT easily enough. 

Remove all the DOS drivers and TSRs you can, so it won't hinder 
Win95's Setup. If you have the CD-ROM version, only have the 
DOS CD driver, HIMEM.SYS, and MSCDEX loaded. 

Edit the remaining SYSTEM.INI to remove all foreign drivers from 
the [386Enh] section. A clean SYSTEM.INI's [386Enh] section will 
look like this: 

[386Enh]
ebios=*ebios
device=*vshare
device=*dynapage
device=*vcd
device=*vpd
device=*int13
display=*vdd,*vflatd
mouse=*vmouse, msmouse.vxd ; the mouse driver may vary, but shouldn't be .386 files
woafont=dosapp.fon
PagingDrive=C:             ; this may vary depending on where you put the swap file
keyboard=*vkd
device=*enable
MinPagingFileSize=32768    ; these will vary depending on your swap file
MaxPagingFileSize=32768    ; Or they may be even missing, that's OK

You might also have a "device=*vpowerd" if you have power 
management on your system. Don't forget: All of Win95's drivers 
really sit in the Registry, not here. 

The best bit of advice I can offer, regarding disaster recovery, is use 
the Backup program which comes with Win95, or use any backup 
program designed for Win95, to do a Full System Backup. This kind 
of backup will copy The Registry to tape as well as the hidden and 
system files. When you complete the re-install, restoring this tape will 
restore all your original settings. All of them. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Top ten re-installation mistakes 

10) Inserting the 13th disk before reading the "Things to try before 
re-installing" section 

9) Restoring your old Windows 3.1 backup on top of your 
re-installed Win95 (again? Shame on you) 

8) Not reading the Installation part of the FAQ over again before 
re-installing 

7) Forgetting to un-compress your DriveSpace drive before 
re-installing 

(It's best to make a separate compressed volume, and keep your 
Win95 directory OFF it) 

6) Forgetting to erase the corrupt Registry before re-installing 

5) Forgetting to erase the Win 3.1 program that made you re-install 
Win95 

4) Re-installing the Win 3.1 program that made you re-install Win95 

3) Forgetting to remove old garbage from SYSTEM.INI, 
CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT 

2) Ignoring the Installation part of the FAQ, which might've prevented 
the need to re-install 

1) Not backing up your system after you first installed Win95 
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