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Windows FAQs | |
How do I find my files and programs?To find any file, whether a program or a data file, you can take three independent paths through Windows 95 by using My Computer, Explorer or Find. To use My Computer, follow these instructions:
Tip: If the file is a data file that is associated with a program (you can tell a file is associated with a program if it uses the program's icon), you can start that program and open the data file by double-clicking the data file. To use Explorer, follow these steps:
Tip: Right-clicking a file in the right pane of the Explorer window or in a folder window opens a pop-up menu, shown next, that allows you to copy, move, delete, or send a file to a floppy disk or to a fax. The next set of steps shows you how to use Find:
Do I have to reinstall my applications after installing Windows 95 on the system that had Windows before?If you install Windows 95 over your existing Windows 3.x directory or folder, then you do not need to reinstall applications. If you install Windows 95 into a new folder, then you will have to reinstall all your Windows applications. Copying files from your Windows 3.x folder to Window 95 is not sufficient. Tip: There is almost no need to keep Windows 3.x on your computer (virtually all programs run as well or better under Windows 95), so Windows 95 should be installed over your existing Windows 3.x. What do I do if an application I am running stops responding?You can use CTRL-ALT-DEL to end an application that is no longer responding to the system. When you press three keys at the same time, the Close Program dialog box will come up, listing all active applications. Select your application and click the End Task button. Windows 95 will allow you to continue working in the other applications that are running without having to reboot the whole system. Caution: Do not press CTRL-ALT-DEL a second time, unless you want to reboot your computer and lose any information that has not been saved. How do I do a clean boot for Windows 95?When troubleshooting Windows 95 or a specific application, you sometimes have to run the system in the simplest possible configuration to single out the source of the problem or a conflict, In the previous operating systems, you had to create a separate boot disk and boot off this floppy. Windows 95 gives you an easier way of creating a clean environment. Use these steps for that purpose:
Ø Normal This starts regular Windows 95 without changes. Ø Logged This starts regular Windows 95, but creates a file called Bootleg.txt that lists all the steps during bootup. This is very useful in tracking down Windows 95 startup failure. You can read the Bootlog.txt file with Notepad. Ø Safe Mode Windows 95 is started by use of the most generic default settings: VGA display driver, no network, Microsoft mouse driver, and the minimum device drivers necessary to start Windows. No CD-ROM drives, printers or other peripheral devices are used. Config.sys and Autoexec.bat are ignored. You can also get this by pressing F5 at the "Starting Windows 95" message. Ø Safe Mode With Network Support This starts Windows 95 in a minimum mode, as before, but adds networking for the situation where you must have access to network drives. You can also get this by pressing F6 at the "Starting Windows 95" message. Ø Step-By-Step Confirmation This is called interactive start. It starts Windows 95, but asks if you want to execute each line in your Config.sys and Autobat files (or the Windows 95 default if you don't have these files). Type Y if you want to process the line; type N if you don't. You will receive an error message if one of the command lines fails (an indicator of where the system fails). It will process the Registry and load all Windows drivers. Ø Command Prompt Only This starts only the DOS part of Windows 95. All drivers are loaded and all command files processed, but the graphic user interface (GUI) is not started. You are left at the C:\ prompt. You can type win to load the GUI. You can also get the Windows 95 DOS command prompt by pressing ALT-F5 at the "Starting Windows 95" message. Ø Safe Mode Command Prompt Only This is the same as the Safe Mode option, but stops at the C:\ prompt without loading the GUI. Type win to load the GUI. You can also get this by pressing SHIFT-F5 at the "Starting Windows 95" message. Ø Previous Version Of MS-DOS (This is only available if you have dual-boot MS-DOS/Windows 95 set up on your system.) This starts your computer in the previous version of MS-DOS that was on your computer when you installed Windows 95. (see the next question.) You can also get this by pressing F4 at the "Starting Windows 95" message. Note With
OSR 2 you can no longer dual-boot with Windows 3.1/DOS. This
applies to the following question as well. How can I go to my previous version of MS-DOS? I tried pressing F4 while Booting when it says "Starting Windows 95", but nothing happens and I don't get the option "Previous version of MS-DOS" when I press F8If pressing F4 does not work, dual booting is not enabled on your computer. You can enable this feature with these steps:
Tip: If you have installed Windows 95 into a new directory without deleting Windows 3.x from your computer, you can start Windows 3.x by booting into the previous version of MS-DOS and then typing win. |
