How to Change the Setup Source Path in Windows 95

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     This article discusses a Beta release of a Microsoft
     product. The information in this article is provided as-is
     and is subject to change without notice.

     No formal product support is available from Microsoft for
     this Beta product. For information about obtaining support
     for a Beta release, please see the documentation included
     with the Beta product files, or check the Web location
     from which you downloaded the release.

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The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Plus! For Windows 95

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to change the path from which Windows 95 Setup obtains source files. If, for example, you originally installed Windows 95 from floppy disks, but later obtained a Windows 95 CD-ROM, you might want to change the Setup source path to retrieve files from the CD-ROM instead of from the floppy disks.

MORE INFORMATION

You can edit the registry using System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) or Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Check with your network administrator before you make any changes to the registry.

System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) is available in the Admin\Apptools\ Poledit folder on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to install System Policy Editor.

NOTE: System Policy Editor is not included in the floppy disk version of Windows 95. You can download Policy.exe, a self-extracting executable file containing Poledit.exe, from online services. Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about downloading Policy.exe:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q135315
   TITLE     : CD-ROM Extras for Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade

1. Click the Start button, click Run, type "poledit" (without quotation marks) in the Open box, then click OK to start System Policy Editor.

2. On the File menu, click Open Registry, then double-click Local Computer.

3. Click the plus sign (+) next to System.

4. Click Network Path For Windows Setup, then type the new source path.

5. Save the changes to the registry, quit System Policy Editor, and then restart Windows 95.

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\
   SourcePath

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

After you update the registry with System Policy Editor or Registry Editor, extract a new copy of the Layout.inf file from the Precopy2.cab file on your new Windows 95 media to the Windows\Inf folder on the hard disk. For example, if you are changing the Setup source path because you switched from Windows 95 disks to a Windows 95 CD-ROM, extract the Layout.inf file from the Win95 folder on the Windows 95 CD-ROM to the Windows\Inf folder on the hard disk. For information about using the Extract tool, type "extract" (without quotation marks) at a command prompt, or see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q129605
   TITLE     : How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files 

Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95

If you have installed Microsoft Plus! and you want to change the source path for the Microsoft Plus! files, open the Program Files\Plus!\Setup\ Setup.stf file and modify the Source Directory line to indicate the correct source path. For example, change "Source Directory C:\" to "Source Directory D:\." If you use WordPad to edit the Setup.stf file, make sure to save the file as a text document.