A Guide to Software, 4e

1
A Guide to Software, 4e

• Chapter 6
• Windows 9x/Me Commands and Startup Disk

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Understanding DOS and Windows 9x/Me Startup

• Windows 9x/Me is built on a DOS core
• Two ways to load the MS-DOS core
• From the Windows 9x/Me hard drive
• From a Windows 9x/Me startup disk

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Figure 6-1 Steps to load the MS-DOS core
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Figure 6-2 Memory address map (not to scale)
showing the starting and ending addresses of
conventional, upper, and extended memory,
including the high memory area
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Windows 9x/Me and DOS Utilities That Manage Memory

• Himem.sys device driver for memory above 640KB
• Emm386.exe loads drivers into upper memory
• Using Himem.sys
• Himem.sys manages memory as a device
• Executed by the Device command in Config.sys
• File can also be created on a floppy disk
• Preparation for using Emm386.exe
• View current memory allocation Mem /C More
• Objective maximize total amount of free memory

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Figure 6-5 MEM report with /C option on a PC not
using upper memory
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Figure 6-6 Config.sys set to use upper memory
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Windows 9x/Me and DOS Utilities That Manage
Memory (continued)

• Loading device drivers high
• Use Devicehigh command in Config.sys
• Order commands so largest drivers are loaded
  first
• MEM /M filename displays memory needed by driver
• A UMB may also be loaded from Autoexec.bat
• Relation of Windows 9x/Me to DOS memory
• System is mostly 32-bit OS using extended memory
• Uses base and upper memory for 16-bit components

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Accessing a Command Prompt

• Click Start, Programs, and MS-DOS Prompt
• Enter Command.com in the Run dialog box
• Boot from any bootable floppy disk
• Restart in MS-DOS mode from Shutdown
• Not available in Windows Me
• Hold down the Ctrl key or the F8 key while
  booting
• Select Command prompt only from menu that appears

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File and Directory Naming Conventions

• Three components in the DOS 8.3 filename format
• Filename contains up to eight characters
• Separating period
• File extension of up to three characters
• Example of a DOS filename myFile.exe
• Legitimate characters
• Letters a through z
• The numbers 0 through 9
• Special characters _ ! ( ) _at_ '
  
• Do not use space, period, , ?, \ in the filename

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File and Directory Naming Conventions (continued)

• Conventions used in Windows
• Directory names/filenames can be up to 255
  characters
• Directory names and filenames can contain spaces
• Maximum directory depth depends on length of name
  
• DOS can only read names in 8.3 format
• DOS truncates long filenames
• Example Mydocument.doc becomes Mydocum.doc

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Using Wildcard Characters in Command Lines

• Wildcard character used to represent file group
• Question mark (?) wildcard for one character
• Asterisk () wildcard for more than one
  character
• Example dir a.???
• Command used to search for files
• All files starting with a and ending with any
  extension

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Commands to Manage Files and Directories

• Dir lists files and directories
• Example DIR Myfile.txt
• Rename or Ren renames a file or folder
• Example Ren Myfile.txt Mybackup.txt
• Type displays contents of a text file on your
  screen
• Example Type Myfile.txt More
• Del or Erase erases files or groups of files
• Example A\Docsgt Del .
• Copy copies a single file or group of files
• Example C\gtCopy C\Docs\. A

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Commands to Manage Files and Directories
(continued)

• Xcopy /C /S /Y /D Copy functions plus options
• Example C\gtXcopy C\Docs\. A /D03/14/06
• Deltree DrivePath deletes directory tree
• Example C\gtDeltree C\Docs
• Mkdir DrivePath or Md DrivePath
• Creates a subdirectory under a directory
• Example Mkdir C\Game\Chess
• Chdir DrivePath or Cd DrivePath or Cd..
• Changes current default directory
• Example Cd C\Game\Chess

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Commands to Manage Files and Directories
(continued)

• Rmdir DrivePath or Rd DrivePath
• Removes a subdirectory
• Example C\gtRmdir C\Game\Chess
• Three conditions for the use of Rmdir
• The directory must contain no files
• The directory must contain no subdirectories
• The directory must not be the current directory
• Attrib displays or changes file attributes
• Example Attrib H MyFile.txt

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Commands to Manage Files and Directories
(continued)

• Extract Filename.Cab File1.Ext /D
• Extracts files from a cabinet file
• Example Extract Ebd.cab /D
• Edit PathFilename opens DOS Edit program
• Example Edit A\Autoexec.bat

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Commands to Manage Hard Drives

• Chkdsk Drive /F /R fixes file system errors
• Example Chkdsk C /F
• Scandisk Drive A/P
• Scans a hard drive for errors
• Repairs errors if possible
• Example Scandisk C
• Defrag Drive /S
• Examines a hard drive or disk for fragmented
  files
• Rewrites these files to the drive in contiguous
  clusters
• Example Defrag C /SN

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Commands to Manage Hard Drives (continued)

• Fdisk /Status /MBR prepare a hard drive for
  first use
• Example Fdisk /MBR
• Format Drive /S /V VolumeName /Q /U /Autotest
• Used to format a disk or a hard drive
• Unformat reverses effect of an accidental format
• Example Unformat C
• Debug
• Text editor with multiple capabilities
• Accessed by entering Debug command

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Commands to Manage the Operating System

• Sys Drive copies system files for booting to
  disk
• Example Sys C
• Scanreg/Restore/Fix/Backup restores the registry
• Example Scanreg/Backup
• Ver displays the version of the OS in use
• MSD Microsoft Diagnostic Utility

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Figure 6-11 MSD opening screen
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Using Batch Files

• Execute a list of commands multiple times
• Save time and reduce errors
• How to create a batch file
• Open a file in a text editor
• Place commands in the file
• Save the file with a .bat extension
• Executing batch file
• Enter name at command prompt
• Extension may be omitted

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Using the Windows 9x/Me Startup Disk

• Bootable (system) disk
• Floppy disk with basic software for booting an OS
• Rescue disk( emergency startup disk (ESD), or
  startup disk)
• Bootable disk with utility programs for
  troubleshooting
• PC technician should always have a rescue disk

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Creating a Windows 9x/Me Startup Disk

• Open the Control Panel
• Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon
• Click Startup Disk tab and then click Create Disk
• Insert the Windows CD if it is requested
• Windows then creates the startup disk
• Write protect and label the disk

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Using a Startup Disk to Partition and Format a
New Drive

• Use Fdisk to partition a drive
• Boot from the startup disk and enter Fdisk at
  prompt
• Select option 1 to create a partition
• Use option 1 (next menu) to create primary
  partition
• Use option 1 or 2 to create other partitions
• Use option 3 to create logical drives
• Select if large disk support will be used (FAT32)
• Exit Fdisk and reboot PC to format logical drives
• Objects created by formatting process
• Partition table, partitions, and logical drives

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Figure 6-14 Fdisk menu to create partitions and
logical drives
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Table 6-6 Error messages that appear after the PC
has passed POST and before an OS has successfully
loaded