A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC
Fifth Edition
Chapter 12
Supporting Windows 9x
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Windows 9x Architecture
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Windows 9x Architecture
(continued)
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Windows 9x Architecture
(continued)
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Virtual Machines
Set of resources made available to an
application through predefined application
programming interface calls (APIs)
Multiple logical machines within one physical
machine
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Virtual Machines (continued)
7A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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
8A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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
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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
10A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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
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Keystroke Shortcuts in Windows
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Keystroke Shortcuts in Windows
(continued)
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Keystroke Shortcuts in Windows
(continued)
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Keystroke Shortcuts in Windows
(continued)
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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
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Windows 9x Startup Process
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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
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How the Registry Is Organized
(continued)
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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
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Recovering from a Corrupted
Registry with Windows 98/Me
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Modifying the Registry
Automatically
When a change is made in Control Panel or Device
Manager
When software is installed
Manually
Use Regedit utility
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Using the Registry Editor
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Troubleshooting Windows 9x
Problems that occur during installation
Problems that occur during the boot process
Problems that occur during normal Windows
operations
24A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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
25A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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)
26A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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
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Command Prompt Only
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Using an Emergency Startup
Disk for Troubleshooting
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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
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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
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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
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Troubleshooting Application
Software ProblemsAddress error messages
Read documentation
Considerations
Virus
Corrupted data files
Potential hardware problem
Corrupted configuration file
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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
34A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition
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