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WINDOWS FILES June 2000 • Vol.6 Issue 6 Page(s) 60-61 in print issue |
Files You Need To Know The Essentials For Running Legacy Programs | ||
Jump to first occurrence of: [AUTOEXEC.BAT]  Every operating system comes with several files that are essential for its operation. The Registry obviously is the most important Windows 98 file; so important, in fact, that several articles in this issue are devoted to it and its associated editing tools. But several other files lurking under the surface are important for working with legacy 16-bit software. Every version of Windows since Windows 95 has been marketed as a 32-bit operating system, but that's a half-truth. While they contain mostly 32-bit code, they are built on a 16-bit foundation to ensure compatibility with Windows 3.x and the MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). You can access many of the files we discuss in this article through the System Configuration Editor. This file is found in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder (it's named Sysedit .exe, so you know where to look when we refer to it. We also will point you to the System Configuration Utility so you can edit some legacy files. It's part of the Microsoft System Information program that you access by clicking Start; expanding Programs, Accessories, then System Tools; and finally clicking System Information. Choose System Configuration Utility from the Tools menu to launch the editing software. Some of the files we will discuss are hidden unless you've enabled the appropriate settings. To access the settings, click Start, expand Settings, click Folder Options, and choose the View tab. Click the Show All Files radio button under Hidden Files and uncheck the Hide File Extensions For Known File Types box. Click Apply to cement the changes.  Legacy Windows 3.x Files. To provide backward-compatibility with 16-bit Win3.x software, Microsoft had to leave some of the key system files from older operating systems in the Win98 code. The older software requires files, such as System.ini and Win.ini, because the software looks to them to retrieve settings and other preferences. System.ini. Win3.x didn't have the Registry that all 32-bit versions of Windows rely on. Instead, all system settings were stored in .INI (initialization) files, and System.ini contained all the information Win3.x needed to interact with hardware installed on the system. Win98 retains this file because older programs designed for Win3.x won't run without it. It is unlikely you'll ever need to edit this file, and any mistakes you make while doing so can be time-consuming to fix. Always back up files before tampering with them. If you do need to modify System.ini, double-click it and it will open in Notepad. You can also access it from the System Configuration Editor. Be aware that every time Windows boots, the legacy .INI files use information stored in the Registry, which negates most of the changes you can make to this file. Win.ini. The other legacy .INI file Win98 uses is Win.ini. There are a few hardware settings in here, but Windows preferences and other software settings constitute the bulk of this file. The 16-bit software will look here to check you printer configuration. Our advice for editing this file is the same as the System.ini file: don't. Windows will just bypass most of your changes the next time it is booted. For best results, change the settings in the actual programs and hardware devices listed in the Win.ini file because those changes will be reflected in the Registry, and thus, the Win.ini file. That said, you can open it using any of the methods listed for the System.ini file. Legacy DOS Files. Win98's backwards-compatibility doesn't stop at Win3.x; it reaches all the way back to MS-DOS. These files are tricky to configure. If you ever have the need to run older DOS applications, it pays to know what each file does and the methods to access them for editing.
This was before the days of Plug and Play, when users had to type initialization strings manually and endlessly tweak them. Autoexec.bat was indispensable as far as DOS was concerned, but Win98 doesn't need it to operate. It remains solely for compatibility's sake, so you may want to disable it if you never use DOS. If you upgraded to Windows 9x (Win95/98) from an earlier version of Windows (or DOS), your old Autoexec.bat file is backed up under the name Autoexec.dos. You can rename this file Autoexec.bat (after backing up the existing Autoexec.bat file) to restore it. To view the contents of the Autoexec.bat file and to edit it, right-click the file's icon and click Edit. This opens the file in a standard Notebook window. To disable a line without deleting it, type rem in front of the line, leaving a space between the word rem and the line. That way you can engage the string again if you decide you need it by simply deleting rem. Autoexec.bat also is accessible in the System Configuration Editor. An alternative to all this is to open the System Configuration Utility and click the Autoexec.bat tab. Here you see the same contents that would appear in the Notebook editor, but with check boxes in front of the strings. To disable a line, uncheck its box. To edit a line, double-click it and type a new entry. To add a line, click any white portion of the box and click New. Config.sys. Another major initialization file all DOS users are familiar with is Config.sys. This file contains most of the device initialization strings and memory settings DOS uses. It is possible to open Config.sys in Notepad by double-clicking it. Use the rem statement as described above in Autoexec.bat to disable lines. You also can click the Config.sys tab in the System Configuration Utility and follow the steps outlined in the Autoexec.bat section to view and modify the file. Real-mode (DOS) mouse drivers can interfere with Windows' operation, and that is why they already are disabled when you first access Config.sys. Keep them that way to avoid trouble. Also look for mouse initialization strings in the Autoexec.bat file and suppress them. If you occasionally use DOS programs, you should create a DOS boot diskette containing all the Startup files that DOS requires for operation. Open My Computer, right-click the 3.5-inch Floppy (A:) icon, and click Format. Put a formatted diskette in the drive, choose the Copy System Files Only radio button, and click Start. This will copy all essential DOS system files to the diskette. If the diskette in the drive is not formatted, choose the Full radio button and check the Copy System Files box in Other Options. Next, copy Autoexec.bat and Config.sys to the diskette. Now you can edit any of the files on the diskette without disturbing their Windows equivalents. When you need to use DOS, insert the DOS boot diskette before powering up the system, and it will bypass Windows and go straight into DOS mode using the settings you established. Command.com. Command.com is DOS' command processor. As the name implies, Command.com was the upper-end of DOS' file hierarchy. Subordinate files, such as Autoexec.bat and Config.sys, reported their settings to Command.com, which was used to execute those commands. You'll need it if you want to run DOS files, otherwise ignore it. Nonprofessionals don't usually edit this type of file. EMM386.exe. One of the main limitations of DOS was its inability to address more than 1MB (megabyte) of RAM (random-access memory) without using a separate memory manager. This is where EMM386.exe came in. When added to the Config.sys file, EMM386.exe could fool DOS into addressing much more than a measly megabyte of RAM. If you ever need to access the EMM386.exe file, it's in C:\WINDOWS.
Miscellaneous Files. Some of the files hidden in Win98 aren't essential for backwards-compatibility, but they certainly are nice. The following files didn't fit neatly into the other two categories, but we're sure you'd like to know about them. Winfile.exe. We know you're out there. You holdouts who pine for the simplicity and efficiency of Win3.x's File Manager. Well, you can have it by launching Winfile.exe from the C:\WINDOWS directory. It replaces the Win98 Desktop with that familiar old File Manager, which works just like it used to. At least it looks like it replaces the Desktop; you can move it around and resize it just as you would a normal window. If you plan to use File Manager all of the time, put a shortcut to Winfile.exe in the C:\WINDOWS \START MENU folder to force the program to launch each time Windows boots. C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND FOLDER. OK, this isn't a file, but the C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND folder is full of all of the extra files DOS users love. This is where you'll find the infamous Mscdex.exe CD-ROM driver file that is absolutely essential if you want to use your CD-ROM drive in DOS. Hard drive tools, such as Fdisk.exe and Xcopy.exe, are also in here, along with oft-used files such as Edit.com and Deltree.exe. If you come across a DOS tip that calls for a certain file, chances are you'll find it in this folder. by Tracy Baker
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