This section provides an overview of the new features in Windows 98 Setup, what is different between Windows 98 and Windows 95 Setup, and an overview of the installation process you need to follow for a successful Windows 98 installation.
Over the past two years, Windows 95 has had two supplemental releases, called OEM Services Releases (OSR-1 and OSR-2) to support new hardware and provide the latest Internet software. Windows 98 is both a retail and an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) release that incorporates all of the OSR-1, OSR-2, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) updates combined with new features and functionality, including the Internet Explorer 4 browsing software.
Windows 98 Setup makes the installation process faster and reduces the amount of user input. It provides the following enhancements:
The following sections explain these enhancements in detail.
The amount of user input required to set up Windows 98 is greatly reduced, making Windows 98 Setup more efficient than Windows 95 Setup. The most important enhancements that make Windows 98 Setup more efficient include the following:
Minimum User Input and Fewer Steps.
The number of Setup steps has been reduced from twelve to five. All input required for installing Windows 98 is requested at the beginning of Setup. Once you provide the required information and have removed the Startup Disk, you can leave your computer unattended and come back to a computer that is ready to use.
Faster Legacy Hardware Detection.
Windows 98 uses the current system configuration for identifying the legacy components. When running Setup from inside Windows 95, Setup verifies settings; if these are not accurate, it performs full legacy hardware detection. If you start Setup from MS-DOS, legacy hardware detection is performed after your computer is restarted for the first time.
Automatic Restart After Setup.
Restarting the computer is now automatic, eliminating the need for user input. There is a 15 second delay to notify users that a reboot is going to take place.
It is now easier to watch how Setup is progressing with the new Setup Wizard information bar located on the left side of the Setup screen, as shown in the following figure.
Windows 98 has a timer near the bottom of the Setup Wizard information bar that identifies the estimated time remaining to complete the installation. While Setup extracts the Precopy CAB files, it performs a throughput calculation to determine the time remaining to complete setup.
Note
The timer is not a good indicator for the actual time remaining if Setup stops responding.
The Startup Disk now contains generic, real-mode ATAPI CD-ROM and small computer system interface (SCSI) drivers. This allows CD-ROM devices to function when the protected-mode of the user interface is not available.
The cabinet (CAB) file structure introduced in Windows 95 has changed in Windows 98 to make Setup faster. Windows 98 groups CAB files by function, for example, all related CAB files for network installation are in the same CAB file (Net#.cab). Also, if certain files are not needed for a particular type of installation, they are not copied.
In Windows 95 most of the files were contained in a Win95#.cab structure. The rest of the files were included in the Mini.cab and Precopy#.cab files.
| About Cabinet Files The Windows 98 files are stored as cabinet files (*.cab). A cabinet is a normal file that contains pieces of one or more files, usually compressed. When the Windows 98 compact discs (or the optional floppy disks) are created, files are compressed into folders. The Windows 98 files are read, then written as one continuous byte-stream, which is then divided into folders as appropriate. Folders can fill one or more cabinets. The Windows 98 cabinet structure has changed slightly from that introduced in Windows 95. For more information on the Windows 98 cabinet structure, see Appendix B, "Windows 98 System File Details." |
The enumeration of Plug and Play hardware is moved to the first boot portion of Setup. Enumeration is performed before detection to reduce hardware detection problems and errors.
When you start Setup, it checks if any anti-virus programs are running. If there are, Setup displays a dialog box informing you to disable the software.
This section summarizes the difference between the Windows 95 and Windows 98 Setup programs. It applies whether you run Setup from Windows 95 or from MS-DOS.
Fewer Setup Steps.
In Windows 98, the number of Setup steps is reduced from twelve to five.
Table 2.1 Comparison of Windows 95 Setup and Windows 98 Setup
| Windows 95 Setup steps | Windows 98 Setup steps | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Initializing Setup. | 1.Preparing to run Windows 98 Setup. | |||||
| 2. Preparing for smart recovery. | 2.Collecting information about your computer. |
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| 3. Reading the Setuplog.txt file. | 3.Copying files to your computer. | |||||
| 4.Gathering information. | 4. Restarting your computer. | |||||
| 5.Analyzing the computer (hardware detection). | 5.Setting up hardware and finalizing settings. |
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| 6. Finding Windows components. | ||||||
| 7. Preparing to copy files. | ||||||
| 8. Copying files to your computer. | ||||||
| 9. Finishing Setup. | ||||||
| 10.Configuring hardware. | ||||||
| 11.Completing configuration options (Run Once options). |
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| 12.Restarting your computer (second restart). |
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CD-ROM Drivers in the Startup Disk.
The Windows 98 Startup Disk contains generic, real-mode ATAPI CD-ROM and SCSI drivers that allow CD-ROM devices to become available when running Windows 98 from the Startup Disk. The CD-ROM driver is not guaranteed to work with all CD-ROM devices; it is offered as a replacement if the real-mode drivers that came with your CD-ROM are unavailable.
Windows 95 and Windows 98 Startup Disks.
Due to changes in the real-mode and protected-mode kernels to support the file allocation table 32 (FAT32) file system, Windows 95 Startup Disks are not compatible with Windows 98. When setting up Windows 98 for the first time, it is mandatory that you make a new Startup Disk and keep it in a safe place.
Version Conflicts.
When setting up Windows 95, if Setup encountered a file that was newer than the one being copied, it displayed a message identifying the file. You then had to decided whether to keep the existing one or replace it with the older version. Windows 98 has a new component called Version Conflict Manager (VCM). VCM manages version conflicts by keeping the existing file and storing the older file provided by Setup in the %WinDir%\VCM folder. %WinDir% refers to the directory that is specified during Setup for installing the Windows 98 files. No dialog box is displayed to the user during this process.