Number 206 - July 2000

Raise Your Hand (If You Had to Reformat Windows 9x)
by Larry Stone, Win95/98 SIG Leader, March 2000 QBits
Windows has been so screwed up that you had to format C: and start over...     That many, huh? [Raised hands, that is - ed] Formatting requires a backup of all document, image, download and other miscellaneous files that you do not want to lose. If you are like me, there is always something you forget. There is a better way especially with Windows 98 which creates a start up floppy that enables the CD-ROM drive.     I recommend renaming the Windows folder and installing to a new one. After booting with the start up disk, type "ren C:\windows oldwin" without the quotes. Change to the CD-ROM drive and run setup. The setup program will encourage you to install to the old folder. Refuse this and force it to use C:\windows. Have your device driver disks handy and install Windows as usual. You will have to reinstall all your software but your files and directory structure will be	intact. Use your system until you are satisfied that it is working as it should. It will then be safe to delete the oldwin folder.     Windows 95 is a little more difficult if you do not know how to add DOS CD-ROM drivers to the start up disk. The easiest way is to go to windows explorer and copy the Win95 folder from the CD-ROM to the hard drive. Follow the steps above except that you will run setup from the hard drive.     This method assumes that you have at least 300 megs of free hard drive space (more is better). You should still backup important files. It is possible to import your Email address book from the old folder. I did it once but don't remember how so print it out before you start. This method has taken a little of the pain out of an unpleasant task for me. I hope it helps someone else. Send comments to lstone521@home.com.
Number 206 - July 2000