W95 Faqs

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W95 FAQ's - Quick Jump

	W95 Version 950C/OSR2.5/IE4.0
	Installation
	Network
	Plug and Play
	Storage/Hard Drive
	Miscellaneous
	Other Resources

Version 950C or OSR2.5 or IE4.0

	What is Windows 95 OSR2.5 or version 950C?
	950C is the latest and last version of Windows 95.
	It is also call OSR2.5 (OEM Service Release version 2.5).
	You can identify 950C by the package.
	Alternatively, to check the version inside Windows 95, go to Control Panel / System / General tab. It should say version 4.00.950C. What's new in 950C?
	950C integrates Internet Explorer 4.0 (TM) into the operating system as Active Desktop (TM).
	In addition, 950C comes with Microsoft Outlook (TM) Express, an email reader. Also, 950C comes bundled with Dial Up Networking (DUN), for connecting to a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) for internet access via a modem. How do I enable/disable Active Desktop (TM)?
	Right mouse click on the desktop area and go to Active Desktop. Uncheck "View As Web Page..." to disable Active Desktop.
	Unless you have 32MB or more RAM, it's highly recommended that you disable Active Desktop. Otherwise, performance of your system may be affected. I can't seem to run Winstone 98 (a benchmarking program from Ziff Davis, publisher of PC Magazine) with 950C.
	According to Ziff-Davis, there is a problem (related to the DCOM component of IE4.0) with Winstone 98 and Internet Explorer 4.0 (IE4.0). If you must run Winstone 98, you have to uninstall IE4.0 first.
	To uninstall IE4.0, go to Control Panel / Add/Remove Programs and select Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and click on the Add/Remove button.
	To reinstall IE4.0, go to \windows\options\cabs and run IE4SETUP.EXE. I've uninstalled IE4.0, but I get a SAGE.VXD error everytime I start Win 95 now.
	Hit any key to bypass that error message and continue loading Win 95.
	At the Win 95 desktop, click on START then go to RUN... and type in REGEDIT.
	In REGEDIT, hit the F3 key and type in SAGE.VXD to search for this file.
	Once REGEDIT has located this file, hit the TAB key to move to the left hand panel.
	The highlight should be on SAGE. Now hit the DELETE key to remove this key. Exit REGEDIT and restart Win 95; the error message should be gone. I've IE4.0 installed and I can't shut the computer down.
	If you're on a network and have network drives mapped, then this may be the cause.
	This problem and solution (install IE4.0 Service Pack 1) is documented on Microsoft's Knowledge Base as article number Q178941. How do I bypass the content security password in IE 3.0/4.0?
	Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVision / Policies / Ratings; then delete the entry called "key."

Installation

	What's the easiest and best way to reinstall Windows 95?
	To reinstall W95 over your existing W95, CD into \windows\options\cabs and type "setup."
	But sometimes the only way to fix a problem is to COMPELTELY reinstall W95; to do this, follow these steps:
	Load the DOS CD-ROM driver and boot into a command prompt by hitting F8 when you see "Starting Windows 95..."
	Insert the W95 CD-ROM disc into the CD-ROM and copy all the files in \win95 on the W95 CD-ROM to your local HDD (c:\win95).
	Type "deltree c:\windows" to delete your current W95 directory; CD into c:\win95 directory and type "setup." I'm trying to reinstall W95 over my existing W95, but it keeps giving me invalid OEM license number when I type in my number.
	If you are installing W95 on top of an existing W95, you need to get the OEM license number from the existing W95.
	To do this, go into Control Panel/System and click on the General tab; write down the existing OEM license #.
	If you've deleted the existing W95 first before reinstalling W95, then you can use the OEM license # on the manual. I moved a W95 hard drive from a working system to a Computer Guys' system, and now W95 doesn't work anymore.
	If you encountered any problems after moving a W95 drive, it's recommended that you reinstall W95 on the new system

Network

I can't logon to my network. I don't get a logon screen when I start W95.

Click on Start / Shut Down... / Close all programs and logon as a different user. If you see a logon screen when W95 restarts, then you need to remove an entry from the registry (see below).

Click on Start / Run... and type in "regedit". Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Network / Real Mode Net. Delete the name entry "AutoLogon=x"

Plug and Play

I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster Vibra 16 soundcard; it plays wave sounds for 1-2 seconds and then it stops.

Most likely, this is caused by an interrrupt problem; go into Device Manager and make sure your soundcard is setup for IRQ 5.

Also, go into your BIOS setup and route IRQ5 to legacy/ISA.

If needed, go into Device Manager and manually set your soundcard IRQ to 5.
I'm having problems with PnP devices.

Go into the BIOS setup and enable PnP OS feature; consult your system board manual for more information.
I have a PnP modem, how do I set it to COM2?

Go into the BIOS setup and disable serial port 2.

Go into My Computer / Control Panel / System / Device Manager / Modem and double click on your modem.

Click on the Resources tab; if the setting is I/O range 2F8h and interrupt request 3, then you're set!

Otherwise, uncheck the "Use automatic settings" box, then scroll through "Settings based on" until you get I/O range 2F8h and interrupt request 3.

Storage / HDD

How do I enable UltraDMA/33 in Windows 95?

UltraDMA is available only if your system board's IDE controller is UltraDMA compliant; check with your system board manual if you are unsure. And your hard drive must be UltraDMA compliant.

If your board has the Intel PIIX4 controller, then download Intel busmastering drivers (1.2MB; extract with -D switch).

My drives are in DOS compatibility mode; how do I get out of it?
Click on START, go to RUN, and type in REGEDIT.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Services / VxD / IOS.

On the right hand window under the Name column, delete the value NoIDE, if it's present.

Scan your drive for virus. A virus that modifies the MBR (master boot record) will result in DOS compatibility mode. You can rebuild the MBR by booting into command prompt (hit F8 when W95 is starting) and typing "fdisk /mbr".

I can't see my IDE CD-ROM in Windows 95.
If your CD-ROM is attached to the onboard IDE channel, you do not need to load the DOS driver.

Also, make sure you're not in DOS compatibility mode (see the question above).
I have an Intel chipset motherboard and there's two Other Devices entries listed in Device Manager.

The latest version of Windows 95 (OSR2.5) does not fully recognize the Intel PIIX4 controller (which controls the IDE and USB ports).

To remove those two devices, you need to download the Intel PIIX4 update and Microsoft OEM USB driver (900K).

The USB driver is also on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. It is in [CD-ROM drive letter]\other\usb\usbsupp.exe or [CD-ROM drive letter]\other\updates\usb\usbsupp.exe for OSR2.5 CDs.

When Windows 95 asks for the USB driver (OCHID.SYS), change the path to c:\windows\system.

Please note that the USB driver is for Windows 95 OSR2.0 or higher ONLY; it will NOT work with Windows 95 version 4.00.950 or 950A!

Miscellaneous

After installing Office 97, I get an application error when I try to change the desktop theme.

You need to update the THEMES.EXE file.

I have an ATI 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV and I get a black screen when Windows 95 starts.
You need to load the ATI Win 95 drivers.

To do this, restart Win 95 in SAFE mode and change the display to Standard VGA and restart Win 95.

Start Win 95 in normal mode and load the ATI drivers.

How come Windows NT 4.0 can't see my Windows 95 partition.

W95 version 950B or higher has a new partition type named FAT32, which breaks the 2.0GB per partition limitation and reduces cluster size, but Windows NT 4.0 cannot see FAT32 partitions. To determine if your W95 partition is FAT32, double click on My Computer and right click on the drive you wish to check, and go to Properties.
What's the latest version of Windows 95?

The latest version of Windows 95, as of February 12, 2002, is version 4.00.950C. To check your version, go to Control Panel / System / General tab.

This is also known as the SR2.5 or OSR 2.5 (OEM service release 2.5). Internet Explorer 4.0 is integrated into the operating system as Active Desktop.
I have a Pentium Pro system, but my Pentium system seems to outperform it.

W95 is a hybrid 16 and 32 bit operating system; the Pentium Pro is optimized for a 32 bit operating system.

If you like the W95 graphical user interface, you should consider using Windows NT 4.0 instead.

Other Resources

I've read through the entire list but nothing seems to match my problem, are there any other resources on the web that can help me?
Try the following links:

Try our Tips pages

Windows 95 Annoyances (all the tricks of the trade for customizing Windows 95)

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