Deciding Between Local and Shared Installation

Windows 95 can run on the local hard disk of a computer or as a shared copy on the server for network workstations.

Windows 95 files are distributed in the following three forms for installation on computers that already have other operating systems in place:

• Windows 3.0 (or higher) upgrade on CD-ROM
• Windows 3.0 (or higher) upgrade on 3.5-inch high-density disks
• MS-DOS upgrade on 3.5-inch high-density disks

To install Windows 95 on a local computer

• Insert the first floppy disk or compact disc into the drive, and make that the active drive. Then double-click SETUP.EXE in File Manager, or type setup at the command prompt.

  For a step-by-step description of the installation process, see "Starting Windows 95 Setup" later in this chapter.

Depending on the license agreement at your site, you can also copy the Windows 95 source files to a shared network directory. Users can connect to this directory and run Windows 95 Setup.

You can also configure servers to support installing and running shared installations of Windows 95 in one of the following three ways:

• On a computer with a local hard disk, with system files stored on and running from the server
• On a computer with only a floppy disk drive, with system files stored on and running from the server
• From a Novell NetWare® server to support diskless workstations that remote boot from a startup disk image on the server

In these cases, most or all of the Windows 95 program files reside on the server instead of the workstation. For more information, see Chapter 4, "Server-Based Setup for Windows 95."