Windows 95 Setup ensures easier installation and also offers greater flexibility and better customization options than earlier versions of Windows. The following list summarizes these improvements.
A complete Windows-based setup process.
Windows 95 Setup provides better visual feedback and greater flexibility for navigating through the setup process than was available for Windows 3.x. Windows 95 Setup runs entirely from within the Windows environment, even if an earlier version of Windows 3.x is not already on the computer. The Windows 95 Setup wizard leads users through the process of choosing all configuration options. After all choices have been made, Windows 95 Setup proceeds without further user actions.
Modular architecture for Setup.
To make installation easier and more flexible, the Windows 95 development team completely rewrote the installation code. Windows 95 Setup also incorporates the use of safe defaults and mechanisms for automatically configuring or installing all components with minimal user intervention.
Improved hardware device detection and configuration support.
Windows 95 Setup detects the hardware devices and components already configured on the computer and uses this information to install drivers and set Registry entries. Windows 95 provides more versatile detection and configuration for a wider range of devices than was available for Windows 3.x. For information, see Chapter 6, "Setup Technical Discussion."
Safe Recovery for Setup failures.
Windows 95 Setup provides a recovery mechanism in the case of Setup failure. Safe Recovery uses a log that is maintained throughout the setup process. If Setup fails — for example, due to problems during hardware detection — the last entry in the Setup log identifies where the process was interrupted. When you rerun Windows 95 Setup, it uses the log to bypass the module where the problem occurred. During Setup (and during subsequent maintenance of Windows 95), Windows 95 also creates and maintains a log of installed components. For information, see Chapter 6, "Setup Technical Discussion."
Network installation integrated with Windows 95 Setup.
These elements are summarized in "Selecting Network Components in Custom Setup" later in this chapter. For more information, see Part 3, "Networking."
Improved customization of installation.
Windows 95 provides easier, more flexible customization of Setup than was available for Windows 3.x, giving you better control for configuring desktop settings, network components, and hardware devices. System administrators can simplify installation for users by using setup scripts that define required settings. Installation of Windows 95 using setup scripts is more flexible and full-featured than for Windows 3.x, and it includes the option for hands-free "push" installation with no user intervention. For information, see Chapter 5, "Custom, Automated, and Push Installations."