File Copy Phase

After you identify and confirm the components to install, Windows 95 Setup begins copying files from the Windows 95 installation disks, compact disc, or network server (whichever was specified). If you selected the option to create a startup disk, this disk is created before the files are copied.

After the necessary files are copied to the computer, Windows 95 Setup prompts you to remove any disks in floppy disk drives and restart the computer to proceed with the final phase of Setup. The following topics describe what happens during the file copy phase.

Creating the Startup Disk

A startup disk is a bootable floppy disk contains utilities that you can use to troubleshoot a malfunctioning system. The startup disk loads the operating system and presents an MS-DOS command line. It is strongly recommended that you create a startup disk for every computer you install Windows 95 on. You can create a Windows 95 startup disk during the file copy phase of Windows 95 Setup, or you can create or update a disk after Windows 95 has been installed by using the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel. For information about using the startup disk, see Chapter 35, "General Troubleshooting."

In general, the startup disk does not provide the following:

To create a startup disk, Windows 95 formats the floppy disk in drive A, and then copies files to the disk in drive A. The files that are copied are described in the following table.

Filename

Description

attrib.exe

File attribute utility

command.com

Core operating system file

drvspace.bin

Disk compression utility

ebd.sys

Utility for the startup disk

edit.com

Text editor

fdisk.exe

Disk partition utility

format.com

Disk format utility

io.sys

Core operating system file

msdos.sys

Core operating system file

regedit.exe

Real-mode Registry Editor

scandisk.exe

Disk status and repair utility

scandisk.ini

Disk status utility configuration file

sys.com

System transfer utility


For recovery purposes, you might want to copy the following files into a subdirectory on the startup disk: SYSTEM.DAT, CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI, plus any CD-ROM or other device drivers. (If you do not place these files into a subdirectory, you'll have to rename them to prevent problems with the startup disk.)

Creating Directories and Copying Files

Windows 95 Setup creates a list of files to copy, depending on the components selected during the information gathering phase. Then various Setup DLLs run to install the network and other components. These DLLs determine exactly which files should be copied from the installation source and which additional directories should be created.

Creating Registry Entries

The Setup DLLs for installing various system components also create appropriate entries in the Registry and change INI file settings as required. (The Registry is created during the hardware detection phase.)

The SYSTEM.1ST file in the root directory is a copy of the Registry created when Setup is complete. To restore a damaged Registry, you can change the file attributes on this file and copy it to SYSTEM.DAT.