Windows 95 Setup is a protected-mode, 16-bit, Windows-based application. There are two different scenarios in which Windows 95 Setup can be run:
The preferred method for running Windows 95 Setup is from within Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups. Run Windows 95 Setup from MS-DOS when neither Windows 3.1 nor Windows for Workgroups is installed on the computer, but MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows NT, or Windows 3.0 is installed.
Setup detects whether Windows 3.1 or any version of Windows for Workgroups is installed on the computer, and, if it finds one of them, it offers to install Windows 95 in the same directory in order to upgrade the existing installation. If you choose to install in the same directory, Windows 95 Setup moves the configuration settings in SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, and PROTOCOL.INI, plus file associations from the Windows 3.x Registry into the Windows 95 Registry, so all applications and networking settings will work automatically in the new Windows 95 environment. Also, Windows 3.x Program Manager groups are converted to directories in the PROGRAMS directory, so that they can be displayed on the Windows 95 Start menu.
Note
You must choose to install Windows 95 in a new directory if you want to preserve the existing MS-DOS or Windows installation. In this case, you might have to reinstall most Windows-based applications before they can function properly in the new environment.
Dual-boot capabilities are not enabled by default. For information about installing Windows 95 on computers with other operating systems and for information about configuring dual-boot options, see Chapter 6, "Setup Technical Discussion."