Introduction - some
great tips by Christopher Parke
1 The fonts displayed on my Win95 desktop
are wrong.
2 Windows 95 Boots Directly to "Shut
Down" Screen
3 My icon titles appear to have been shortened
to Calcul...... etc
4 Windows 95 permanantly stuck in MS-Dos mode..
5 Windows 95 running in DOS compatibility
mode?
6 Windows 95 hangs/slows at start-up?
7 I've got 32Mb's Ram and my PC still runs
out of memory and resources????
8 I've deleted an application now Windows
95 keeps coming up with these error messages ????
9 I used a DOS version of Norton on my Win95
Drive how do I get my long file names back?'
10 My registry keeps corrupting itself???
11 Invalid Command.com error???
12 Registry Problems-"Not enough memory
to load registry, or the registry is damaged..."
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1998 09:51:15 -0400 From: Christopher Parke <[email protected]> Subject: Re: BUGS: INSTALL: Help please, my Win95 is dead
Programmes or TSR's may be a problem if loaded by a config file , usually config.sys, at boot up. Delete all references to them from such files , ie , ensure they do not run ( load into memory ) at bootup.
If Windows 95 starts in Safe mode, step through the startup process to see if any devices fail to load. To do so, restart your computer, press F8 when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, and then choose Step-By-Step Confirmation from the Startup menu.
The following table lists several startup options. The options are labeled Boot A, Boot B, Boot C, and Boot D. Try each option and note your results. To use a boot option, press Y or N as outlined in the option in the table below each time you are prompted whether you want to load a particular device.
Boot A Boot B Boot C Boot D
Load DriveSpace Driver? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es Process the system registry? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (N)o
Create a startup log file (Bootlog.txt)? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es
Process your startup device drivers (Config.sys)? (N)o (N)o (Y)es (Y)es Device=<path>\Himem.sys? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es Device=<path>\Ifshlp.sys? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es Device=<path>\Dblbuff.sys? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es Device=<path>\Setver.exe? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es
Process your startup command file (Autoexec.bat)? (N)o (N)o (Y)es (Y)es
Load the Windows graphical user interface? (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es (Y)es Load all Windows Drivers? (N)o (Y)es (N)o (Y)es
Boot A:
If Windows 95 does not start under these conditions, try the Boot D option. If Windows 95 starts, there is a problem with a driver or terminate-and-stay-resident program (TSR) loading in the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file, or there is a problem with a Windows 95 protected-mode driver.
Boot B:
If Windows 95 does not start under these conditions, try the Boot C option. If Windows 95 starts, there is a problem with a driver or TSR loading in the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file. You can pinpoint the problem by stepping through these files.
Boot C:
If Windows 95 does not start under these conditions, try the Boot D option. If Windows 95 starts, there is a problem with a Windows 95 protected-mode driver. For more information about these problems, see the "Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems" section of this article.
Boot D:
If Windows 95 does not start under these conditions, try the steps in the "System.ini" section below. If Windows 95 starts, there is a problem with the system registry.
System.ini:
To determine whether the System.ini or Win.ini file is causing a problem, try the following steps:
1. Rename the System.ini file in the Windows folder to System.sav.
2. Copy (do not rename) the System.cb file in the Windows folder to System.ini.
3. Add the following line to the [boot] section of the System.ini file and then save the file:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
4. Rename the Win.ini file in the Windows folder to Win.sav.
5. Restart your computer.
If this works, there is a problem with an entry in the System.ini or Win.ini file. Examine these files more closely to determine the exact cause of the problem.
If Windows 95 does not start when you step through the boot process, start your computer in Safe mode, and then change the video driver to the standard VGA driver.
NOTE: When you copy the System.cb file to System.ini, your mouse may stop working. If this occurs, add the following lines to the appropriate sections of the new System.ini file:
[boot] mouse.drv=mouse.drv
-and-
[386Enh] mouse=*vmouse, msmouse.vxd
Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems
If Windows 95 starts only when you press N at the Load All Windows Drivers? prompt, try the following steps:
1. Start Windows 95 in Safe mode.
2. Use the right mouse button to click My Computer, and then click Properties on the menu that appears.
3. On the Device Manager tab, disable any devices in the following categories:
Display adapters Floppy disk controllers Hard disk controllers Keyboard Mouse Network adapters PCMCIA socket Ports SCSI controllers Sound, video, and game controllers
To disable a device, follow these steps:
a. In Device Manager, double-click the category name, and then double- click the device.
b. On the General tab, click the Original Configuration (Current) check box to clear it, and then click OK.
c. Restart your computer.
NOTE: If Windows 95 does not start, go to the "System.ini" section of this article.
4. Once Windows 95 restarts, enable the devices you disabled in step 3. Enable the devices in the following order:
- Com ports - Hard disk controllers - Floppy disk controllers - Other devices
To enable a device, follow these steps:
a. In Device Manager, double-click the category name, and then double- click the device.
b. On the General tab, click the Original Configuration (Current) check box to select it, and then click OK.
c. While the properties for each device are open, click the Resources tab and make sure there are no conflicts listed in the Conflicting Devices list.
5. Restart your computer.
For additional troubleshooting assistance, check the Bootlog.txt file in the root directory on your hard disk. This file lists the loading status of all real-mode and protected-mode drivers. If Windows 95 does not start, the Bootlog.txt file lists the last driver that loaded successfully, and lists a "LoadFail" entry for each driver that failed to load before the problem occurred.
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For instance, instead of seeing the window control buttons, I see the button outlines with numbers and letters. I have consulted MSKB and my Windows95 Reference from MS Press with no luck. Can anyone offer suggestions on how to solve this problem? P.S. I reinstalled Win95 and the fonts were fixed, but when I reinstalled MS+, the fonts went out again!
Your Marlett.ttf ( font ) needs renewing so extract it from the install cd @ Win95_05 .cab in the Win95 folder and put it in/windows/fonts, reboot. PcP@
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 1998 08:03:07 -0400 From: grt <[email protected]> Subject: Re: (no subject)
Question:- I have a user who has a problem with screen fonts. In most of his applications now, some of the menu items, status bar, balloon help, etc. displays its characters in wingdings. I have looked in the knowledgebase to remedy this problem. The solution to reinstall fonts was not an option because the option is not availabe in add/remove programs. Does anyone know of another was to reinstall fonts for 95 without reinstalling 95?
Answer:- Copy them manually from the 95 install disk. Most of the TTF fonts are in WIN95_04.CAB, WIN95_05.CAB and WIN95_13.CAB. Most of the FON fonts are in WIN95_05.CAB. Type EXTRACT /? in a dos box to see how to use this command. example usage (assuming windows directory is on C: and the CD drive is D:) : EXTRACT /Y /L C:\WINDOWS\FONTS D:\WIN95\WIN95_05.CAB *.TTF
You can use the command EXTRACT /D to display the contents of a cabinet file. If you redirect (and append) output to a text file (using >>) for all the cabinets on the CD, you'll end up with a text file that lists all the win95 files and which cabinet they are stored in. Useful thing to have when you need to replace a couple of file
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2. Windows 95 Boots Directly to "Shut Down" Screen
This directly from Microsoft
SYMPTOMS When you start your computer, you may see the "Starting Windows 95" message, followed by the "It's now safe to turn off your computer" message. This behavior can occur in any mode. CAUSE This behavior can occur if the Vmm32.vxd file is missing or damaged. RESOLUTION Re-create the Vmm32.vxd file. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.
2. Type the following line to change to the Windows\System folder:
cd \windows\system
3. Type the following line:
ren vmm32.vxd vmm32.old
4. Reinstall Windows 95.
NOTE: If you installed Windows 95 from a CD-ROM, you may need to enable the Mscdex.exe line in the Autoexec.bat file or reinstall the real-mode CD-ROM drivers included with the CD-ROM drive before you can reinstall Windows 95. After you enable the real-mode CD-ROM drivers, repeat step 1 to restart the computer.
MORE INFORMATION A Vmm32.vxd file is included on the Windows 95 disks and CD-ROM. Extracting this version of the file will not solve the problem, as it is an incomplete version of the file. You must run Setup to re-create a system-specific Vmm32.vxd file.
Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.
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3. My icon titles appear to have been shortened to Calcul...... etc
The icon problem - is it the PICTURES going wrong, or the TITLES? I mean, do you see something like "Shortc..." instead of "Shortcut to Files on Server"?
If this is the case, you've disabled Icon Title Text wrapping. Powertoys can fix it, as well as a careful tour of the Registry. Look for Icon... Wrap.. something. Todd
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A mate of mine did something to his machine so that it thinks you are in >msdos mode win will cause it to say please type exit and exit will cause it to whir and return to dos...?????
Tell your mate to try editing CONFIG.SYS, and deleting the first line DOS=SINGLE.
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5. Windows 95 running in DOS compatibility mode?...
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1998 18:25:39 -0700 From: Mark Dodge <[email protected]> www.primenet.com/~markd #1 USA Mirror site of this FAQ Subject: Re: Hardware:DOS compatibility mode
Question: - Here's a problem I've been messing with for a few hours and I am > totally frustrated. The P.C. is an NEC P75 16meg ram 1.6gig hd all OEM with this box. Problem is I cannot get the drives to run in protected mode. The CMD PCI controller loads fine(no errors in device manager) but both "child" controllers(on for each ide bus) both come up with the yellow !. I tried removing th PCI bus and reinstalling, comparing to a identical system(where all is well) they are the same, I even tried installing the generic ide controller no luck. There are no drivers loading in config.sys and autoexec.bat so thats not the problem.
Suggestion:- I had this same problem with a board and I had to do a setup /P f This will FORCE Win95 to redetect the hardware and set up the system right. Just be sure to turn off any Virus detection in the BIOS or auto in the configs.
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6. Windows 95 hangs/slows at start-up
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1998 00:20:27 -0700 From: "Robert M. Guderjohn" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: APPS: win95 hangs at start-up
Lori Kutnink wrote:
Question:- A few days ago I noticed that my computer all the sudden hangs when I start it up. It used to when it first started up show the win95 plus picture then go to the DOS black where it said loading win95 then go into windows 95. Now it first shows the DOS part saying loading win95 then the win95 plus picture and stops. The blue bar at the bottom is moving as if it's loading drivers and suchbut no noise is heard after about a minute passes all the sudden the familiar sound of the hard drive starts and it goes into windows. Anyideas why it does this?
Suggestion:- Several reasons why this happens, but first, have you added/removed any hardware just before this started happening?
This is the bootup process for Windows 95 (The Windows 95 Resource Kit pages 195-200)
1) Win95 verifies if your BIOS is P&P or not.
2) Determines which hardware profile you are using. (hardware detection is done here!)
3) Load any real mode drivers. (Old Config.sys/Autoexec.bat stuff)
4) Initialize static VxDs (including dynamic VxD support, the Virtual Machine Manager, and the real mode loader.) (VMM32.VXD!)
5) Loading Protected Mode OS. (This includes Protected Mode VxDs)
6) Loading Kernal32.dll, Krnl386.exe, GDI.exe, GDI32.EXE, User.EXE, User32.EXE, fonts, checking the Win.ini values, shell and destop.
A
VxD is a virtual device driver for a hardware device that is in the W/S. These are for any cards and system resources built into the MoBo, and are machine specific. Because of the way the VMM32.VXD is designed, it is dynamic and changes every time your hardware changes. The files that go into this file are contained in the system\vmm32 subdirectory under your windows sub. (You might be able to find out if a driver you don't need is being loaded by using a hex editor to look at these files, but I wouldn't!)
To find out when/where the slowdown/stop occurs, F8 at the Starting Windows 95 message and do a bootlog startup. The bootlog.txt is in the root of the startup drive. (Usually the C:\) You can hit the reset button when you get to the slowdown and do a command prompt start from there. Then look at the bootlog to see where it hangs. This file can be huge so please don't post it! Just send the last few (10-20) lines and I'll look at mine to figure where you're having the problems.
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7. I've got 32Mb's Ram and my PC still runs out of memory and resources????
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1998 00:20:27 -0700 From: "Hans Klarenbeek" [email protected] Subject: Lack of ram with 32 Mb - Running out of resources and memory
Resources:- Resources very simply put keep track of GUI things in Windows 95 and Windows 3.1. A small amount of ram is dedicated to just that function and when you run out things stop working or your OS stops working.... (BANG!)
Win95 still has a lot of the same limitations as Windows 3.11 mostly on running its legacy apps.... What you are experiencing is resource leaks...... When an application opens it may take an arbitrary 10% resources which is a SMALL area of Ram dedicated to keeping track of windows position etc.... Now were you to quit this application it may only give back 60% of the resources it took or a leak of 40% (of the taken resources) now if you have small resource heap as in Windows 3.1 or a larger one like Windows 95 then you will at some point hit a critical low point in your resources (10-20%) after opening and exiting programmes a certain number of times - when you get to the level where insufficient resources are available to open the application it won't open or it worse it will and then crash the system......
How do I find the culprit??? (In Windows 95??)
Before loading any apps (remove stuff from the startup folder) and load= and run= statements in the WIN.INI file. Check in the level of resources by right clicking on 'My Computer' / Properties [Selection] / Performance [Tab] the resource settings.... Run the suspect application quit it and check the resources again.... If there is a significant 2+ % leakage it may be a NASTY.... if not repeat the procedure (open close) about 5 times and check again if there is no real leakage at this point things should be fine... Try the next suspect application and so on......
Hansie
BTW this also applies to (Mac)CrapOS (TM) but not to UNIX or Amiga OS
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8 I've deleted an application now Windows 95 keeps coming up with these error messages ????
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 00:20:27 -0700 From: "Hans Klarenbeek" [email protected] Subject: Manual deletion of app gives error messages.
It seems something happended to my files. The guy at the computer store >said it was from deleting files without using the un-install( I'm currently somewhat new to the "computer thing"). Anyway when I load up >my system I get alot of error messages. Can you offer any suggestions on how I can correct the problem.
OK yes it appears you have manually deleted a windows 95 programme or removed a Windows 3.1 programme which could could not have been uninstalled any other way....
Applications install bits all over
the place
1) In the win.ini
2) In the system.ini
3) In the Starup group
4) In the registry
5) In the system directory Windows/system... <---- HARDEST TO TRACE
Cleaning up after you screwed up....
1) Take a note of all whinging messages particularly file names it is looking for......
2) Search items 1) 2) 3) & 4) for those file names one by one.
In the Registry
The information you are looking for is in all probability to be found under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
These are the programs that have been set up to run whenever the computer reboots. Same as the start menu but they start booting first but may finish after if they take a long time to open.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
These programs run only on the first boot of the day such as doing a virus scan.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
Do the same thing but only special set up programs etc. For example if you install the MS service pack for Win95 you need to replace many of the basic windows files. Since these files are in use you cannot just copy and replace. The installation routine copies the files to a temp directory, adds runservices keys to the registry, tells you to reboot, and on the reboot copies the files from the temporary directory to the windows directory at the very start of the boot process and finally erases the runservices entries.
This is why you should always reboot after each installation. What a second install or you might do is erase the temp files or the runservices entries which results in a failure of the installation.
Tools
Sysedit.com <----------Locate this in the Windows/System dir and drag and drop it onto your start menu....
Clicking on it will open up all the system ini files... Use text search and replace function built in to remove offending items ONLY remove those things after the = not the entire item.... Sections belonging to particular programmes are usually marked [Application x] if this belongs to something you know has been nuked remove all including heading to (but not including) the next heading...
Regedit
DANGER!!!!!!
Be very carefull removing keys not related to your problem can cause your machine to require reinstall of windows.... Do a search through the registry looking for offending file names as you noted earlier or the names of application you nuked recently backup you registry if possible (this will be fully explained in the new revision of the FAQ) Use common sense if the offending file name resides in a key or folder if you will with name of the application you deleted one level up remove that level..... BUT be very wary screw it up and you are on your own.. reinstall time...
Hansie
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9 I used a DOS version of Norton on my Win95 Drive how do I get my long file names back?
I installed 95 on one drive while keeping Dos 6.2 and Win 3.1 on another. I was in Dos 6.2 after using an old boot disk, and use dos version of Norton directory sort on both drives. C has old, D has win 95.
Now when I boot up when 95 comes up, i have lost all the long filenames that i created since installing Win95.
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 1998 12:35:26 UT From: Ralph Morse <[email protected]> Subject: Re: INSTALL: Long filenames
Bad move Joe <g>
Here's your only option:
Reformat D: drive Re-install Win95 Don't *ever* do that again.
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10 My registry keeps corrupting itself???
Bad memory, HD corruption? What's up? Any ideas or suggestions?
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 1998 20:47:47 -0500 From: "J. Ryan Thomas" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Registry Woes
Opinion1: - Neither memory nor the HD will corrupt the registry. You may have software , either an application or , more likely, a set of drivers alligned to a >peripheral bios ( SCSI , HD cache controller , etc. ) which causes the problem . I suggest being very cautious after the next install about what you load up and , looking at everything one at a time , determine the nexus of the error as you install your peripherals and major , non MS apps.
J. Ryan Thomas:- Actually, a bad Hard Drive can corrupt the registry. This happened to me for the first sixth months I owned this new machine. It took me that long to figure out my HD was defective. It wasn't writing correctly, and I was getting cycle redundancy errors....
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11 Invalid Command.com error???
I have this problem when my computer it's booting up, it sends the next message:
Invalid COMMAND.COM
Enter correct name of Command.com Interpreter(eg, C:\COMMAND.COM)
I checked the disk with the NDD and it says is OK. Then I installed other HD as a master and mine as slave(Quantum-Figboot 1.2), and there was any problem. So, I think it must be either the HD or the Windows95. But, finally after the 20th reset or Ctrl+Alt+Del I have a normal computer. Is it Hardware or Software(Win95)?
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1998 22:42:49 -0700 From: Mark Dodge <[email protected]> Subject: Re: SOFTWARE: Invalid Command.com
Start the system with your Win95 startup disk and at a dos prompt, type "sys C:" without the quotes and you shouldn't have any more problems.
Mark Dodge
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Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 12:14:02 -0700 From: "Art McGee, IGC Technical Support" <[email protected]> Subject: OTHER: Registry Problems
Question : After a crash (Win95, you know), he gets the following error: "Not = enough memory to load registry, or the registry is damaged..." There is plenty of memory available, but is there some place were I can = tell how big the registry can be?
The problem isn't the amount of memory. The registry is damaged.
He should be able to simply allow Windows to startup completely, or at least to the point where he gets to the Windows logon dialog.
As soon as you see the wallpaper or a wallpaperless desktop, hold down the CTRL key and keep holding it down until all disk activity stops. This will insure that Win95 skips the startup folder.
Then, after it's finished booting, IMMEDIATELY shutdown.
Then restart the computer and bring up 95 again.
The error messsage should be gone now.
Then run RegClean 4.1 as a precaution.
Problem gone, but make sure that in the future, you
use the Emergency Recovery Utility in 95, or Rescue Disk in Norton Utilities
to keep backup copies of the registry. It may even be safer and simpler
to go into DOS
mode and copy these files to another disk or directory:
\win95\system.dat \win95\system.da0 \win95\user.dat \win95\user.da0
The DAT file is the primary, the DA0 file is the backup. Win95 already used the DA0 file to fix your previous registry problem, which is why it was unnecessary to reinstall Win95.
Lets face we all know someone who has had a nightmare with Windows 95 on a particular or perhaps a few machines. Myself I never had a problem from after beta 1 (which was really bad!), It always ran well and without incidence. I did however come across a machine which installed fine but then proceeded to do nothing but flicker on and off in Windows 95, like incredibly slow interlacing. All was functional but obviously unusable.... all the machines that I have seen since with problems of one sort or another have had one thing in common, they were cheap AND nasties. Now there is nothing wrong with a clone indeed with carefully selected components through a respectable dealer, the machine can be a solid performer.
The first machine I mentioned turned out to be a really evil peice of work (a bargain!) which was a VLB machine but all the cards were second-hand ISA card cobbled together from a variety of trade in 386's no doubt. The bottom line being you get what you pay for.
So the purpose of this section is to get a cross section of opinions as what cause some Windows 95 machines to be very stable while others are notoriously unstable. ( You are heartily invited to contribute you comments please use the WHY? headiing)
1) The machine is basically cheap and nasty and Windows 95 simply doesn't know what to do with it.
2) The machine uses odd and obscure component high quality or low quality it doesn't matter.
3) The person installing it was hoping it would fix all the problems they had with Windows 3.11. (or the machine was already sick!)
4) Sick Ram
5) Viral infection preceeded the install.
6) The installer simply didn't know what they were doing or had unrealistic expectations.
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Yvette Lian's Experiences
Yes, dodgy components, or components not supported by win95 (or win95 drivers supplied by manufacturer) are a major cause for win95 stuffups. But you know what I think is possibly one of the biggest problems with win95? The people using it! Don't get me wrong... I mean, most customers are pretty smart... when it comes to using win 3.1x. 95 is so totally new to some people, they just can't make head nor tail of it. Switching it off mid-stream is always a good one. People who don't know what the shut down command does, or where it is. People who insist on loading 16-bit drivers on their systems! arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! yal@
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Bob Trotman's Experiences
Win95 screws-up for some 'cause of what they have left over in their:
- autoexec.bat - config.sys - win.ini (from Win3.1) - system.ini (" " )
Equiped with a boot disk with all of the REALLY NEEDED drivers and a blank hard drive, I have not had any problems installing Win95 onto other people's computers. Period.
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Michael Klinteberg Experiences
1. The bios can be the reason "why Windows 95 Screws Up"
2. If the Bios does support virus-warning, disable it during installing.
I have installed Windows 95 on many computers (100's) and only one time did the install fail, Because of reason number 2
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1. P&P Bios incompatibility (Not related to Viral protection which
I
always turn off). Seems IBM's business model Pentiums have some kind of
version checking, and Win95 screws it up by overwriting it with plug and
play config data. Solution is to download bios patch from IBM and flip
a dipswitch on the motherboard to make the bios read-only.
2. Downward compatibility with win31 apps. I've seen a lot of few
problems with installs over old win31 configurations. I've found that
often this doesn't work for all of the original applications. My
preferred methodology is to do a non-upgrade install of win95, then move
the applications manually, copying dlls and other associated files as
needed. If that proves too difficult I'll do a reinstall of the
original app under win95.