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.
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.)
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.
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.