Hi again folks,


This is my new/updated/improved (version 11d, Freeware) of Windows 95 and
MS-DOS 7.00 Setup/Config/Tweaking Hints/Tips/Tricks text files.
Download W95-11D.ZIP into an empty folder and unzip it with WinZip 32bit
version 6.1 or better for Windows 95, a popular zipping/unzipping utility,
found at AOL's Win95 Software area (keyword WIN95), in the "Hot! - Top
Windows 95 Files" area, or at a Windows 95 web software site:
http://www.windows95.com/apps/compress.html
These files contain among other things real solutions to real problems that
people like you might encounter at some point, running Win95 and/or DOS 7.00
(I'm updating/improving these files periodically and adding new tips).
Read these plain text files for details (open them with Notepad):
- READ1ST.TXT (read this one first!)
- MYTIPS95.TXT (my own Win95 tips)
- TIP95AOL.TXT (tips I picked up from AOL, and by helping other Windows users
  solving their problems)
- MEMORY.TXT (my own technical tips on solving memory problems in DOS and
  Windows)
- DESKTOP.TXT (Win95 desktop tips)
- REGISTRY.TXT (Win95 Registry tricks/fixes/speedups)
- REGIONS.TXT (technical info on DOS memory regions mapping)
- EMM386.TXT (technical info on DOS/Windows memory managers)
- NEWLOGO.TXT (my own tips on how to change Win95 desktop wallpaper/startup
  logo)
- DOSTIPS.TXT (remap extended keys F1-F12 in MS-DOS mode, and try this
  Dosshell.ini)
- GLOSSARY.TXT (terms and abreviations reference list)
- 66 original icons for your favorite Windows/DOS programs/games (in
  DLL format)
- Funny Windows 95 startup/wait/shutdown replacement logos
- SECRETS.TXT (MS-DOS undocumented/secret features)...
... All these, and much more, on how to:
- Install Windows 95 in a dual-boot environment (DOS 6/7, Win 31/95)
- Exit to ol' DOS prompt from Win95
- Tweak your Registry to improve performance in Win95
- DOS 7/Windows 95 tips/hints/tricks
- Mess with your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to squeeze maximum
  conventional DOS memory
- Mess with your MSDOS.SYS to bring the Win95 OS at your feet
- Work better/faster/easier in the Windows 95 environment
- MS-DOS secrets
- How to replace the boring Win95 startup logos and Win95 desktop
wallpaper...
... in a few words, how to make your (computing) life easier.

Hope you'd find something useful in here.
I will try to update/revise/improve these files periodically.
Any donations/contributions from you, Win95+DOS7/Win31+DOS6 users, who
would find something/anything useful in these files, would be very much
appreciated, and stimulate me in continuing to update/improve these tips
files. I'd like to thank you in advance for your patience taking the time
to read these text files.
I can't thank enough to all of you who already encouraged me in continuing
upgrading these tips, to all of you who sent me suggestions and fixes
concerning these tips, and to all those who sent me their own tips, also
included in these files.
Enjoy!


* LEGAL STUFF: All the files in this archive are FREEWARE. The freeware
               concept means that you can read, print, give away, share,
               publish, post, upload these files without making any
               modifications to any of the files in this archive, or change
               the name, time and date stamps, and/or contents of this
               archive without my written consent.
               You must distribute this archive as is, in its entirety.
               I, as author of these files and archive, reserve the right to
               change, modify, correct, update, improve these files
               periodically.
               Also, you cannot ask for ANY fees or/and charges for the
               distribution of this archive, or/and its contents.


DOWNLOADS:

1. You can DL the latest version of my Windows 95/31 and DOS 7/6 Tips Files
from "Mark Richardson World" Home Page:
http://www.mountain.net/~bluetic/files
There you'll find the most recent updates of my tips Files:
- My Windows 95/DOS 7.00 Tips & Tricks Files: filename W95-11D.ZIP
- My Windows 3.1x/DOS 6.xx Tips & Tricks Files: filename W31-11D.ZIP
2. A popular URL where you can usually DL the latest version of my Windows
and DOS Tips Files is SimtelNet's Web Page.
There, you'll find two different "flavors":
- My Windows 95/DOS 7.00 Hints, Tips & Tricks Files at:
  http://www.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/info/
  There DL the file W95-11D.ZIP.
- My Windows 3.1x/DOS 6.xx Hints, Tips & Tricks Files at:
  http://www.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/info/
  There DL the file W31-11D.ZIP.
3. To DL my Win95/DOS7 tips files (W95-11D.ZIP), check out this URL:
http://www.32bit.com/software/url_main.phtml??keyword=w95-11c.zip&catfolder=All&last=842267083
4. To download my Windows 31/95 tips files on AOL:
- For Windows 95 users: type WIN95 in the Keyword box, and once in Windows 95
area main screen, choose Software, and then Windows 95 Utilities.
Takes about 1 minute and a half to DL the file W95-11C.ZIP at 28,800 bps.
- For Windows 3.1x users: type WINDOWS in the Keyword box, and double-click
Miscellaneous in the Windows Forum Software screen. Look for the Text Info
files. Takes about 45 seconds to DL the file W31-11C.ZIP at 28,800 bps.
You can also click the "File Search" icon (the floppy diskette with a magnifier
glass on top, from AOL's main menu bar), and type AXCEL216 in the keyword box
(at this time version 11c files are already available on AOL).
I currently have 30 tips files posted at different areas on AOL:
- Windows Forum area (keyword WINDOWS)
- Windows 3.1 area (keyword WINDOWS)
- Windows 95 area (keyword WIN95)
- PC World area (keyword PC WORLD)
- Multimedia World area (keyword MMW)
- Windows Magazine area (WINMAG).
During 1995, my files were downloaded by aproximately 115,000 AOL members.
This year, about 88,000 PC users have already downloaded the different
versions of my 31/95 tips files on AOL (as of 9/5/96).

* THANK YOU !!!  I am privileged to send here my most sincere THANKS to all of
* THANK YOU !!!  you who took the time to download my files, read them, and sent
* THANK YOU !!!  me their thoughts, encouragements, ideas, questions, comments,
* THANK YOU !!!  tips, etc....

NOTE: I'm updating these files periodically, so the archive names might
      change to include the new version number (my files are ALWAYS under
      construction). If you can't find the latest version, contact me at:
      AXCEL216@aol.com
      and I'll send you my current releases.


LAST MINUTE UPDATE: I eliminated the 66 icon files with the .ICO extension
                    from the present version of this archive, to reduce
                    the size of the zip file, for faster downloads.
                    The compressed icon library (MYICONS.DLL), contains
                    the same icons, and IS included here.
                    If you'd also like to get the 66 ICO files (they are
                    also freeware), send me e-mail at:
                    AXCEL216@aol.com
                    and I'll gladly send them to you (22KB zipped).


I welcome e-mail on any problems you might have running Windows 95/3.1x
or/and MS-DOS 7.00/6.xx on your system. Also, for any comments, ideas,
questions or if you want to send me your own tips, send me a "wire" at:
AXCEL216@aol.com


... And look up my new Web page at:
http://home.aol.com/AXCEL216
(so very primitive, and always under construction...)
... and also my newly created Web page:
http://members.aol.com/AXCEL216/index.html

... If I've got your attention so far, read on...



            Windows 95 Setup/Startup/Tweaking Configuration TIPS



!!!    I M P O R T A N T  =>  BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE:

*** BACKUP YOUR STARTUP FILES: AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS AND MSDOS.SYS, BEFORE
    MAKING ANY MODIFICATIONS !
*** USE WIN95'S BACKUP UTILITY TO BACKUP YOUR WIN95 REGISTRY FILES, BEFORE
    MAKING ANY MODIFICATIONS: SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT, SYSTEM.DA0 AND USER.DA0
    (hidden files found in the Win95 folder: \WINDOWS is default) !
*** READ THIS TEXT FILE for valuable information.

WARNING: I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER, WHILE
         TRYING ANY OF THE TIPS/TRICKS/HINTS LISTED IN THESE TEXT FILES.
         IF YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL
         HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. I CAN'T SAY THIS ENOUGH: B A C K U P ! ! !

THEN:

*** Read MYTIPS95.TXT. I'm sure you'll find something to your liking there.
*** Read REGISTRY.TXT on Windows 95 Registry tricks/fixes/speedups.
*** Read DESKTOP.TXT for valuable Win95 desktop tips.
*** Read MEMORY.TXT and EMM386.TXT (technical info) to understand how
    MS-DOS's memory management work, and how to optimize your system's
    conventional, upper, extended and expanded memory areas in DOS and
    Windows modes.
*** READ REGIONS.TXT FOR PRECIOUS INFO ON MS-DOS UPPER MEMORY MANAGEMENT AND
    UPPER MEMORY REGIONS (Courtesy of Mr. Dale F. Ogden), valid for MS-DOS
    6.00 and up (technical details on optimizing your system's memory).
*** Read SECRETS.TXT for details on undocumented MS-DOS features Microsoft
    forgot to tell us about.
*** All the batch files mentioned in these text files are included in this
    archive (the .BAT extension files).
*** Also READ the text files: MSDOSDRV.TXT and CONFIG.TXT, located in your
    Win95 folder (default \WINDOWS), on how to customize your CONFIG.SYS
    command lines and devices/drivers !
*** I included here 66 original icons (32x32 pixels, 16 colors), you can use
    for your favorite Windows/DOS applications/programs/games.
    The file MYICONS.DLL contains the 66 icons, in Windows DLL format (Dynamic
    Link Library), to ease browsing through a single file, when deciding which
    icon to assign to your Windows shortcuts.
*** You'll also find here 3 Win95 replacement logos: LOGO.SYS, LOGOW.SYS and
    LOGOS.SYS.
    Read NEWLOGO.TXT for info on how to change your logo/wallpaper in Win95.

NOTE: To print any of the included text files (with the .TXT extension), just
      open one of them in Notepad, and choose Print from the File menu (you
      can customize the page size, header, left, right, top and bottom margins,
      to fit more text into a single printed page, by fiddling with the Print
      Setup and Page Setup menus). Click Print when you're done (and make sure
      your printer is turned on and ready).

* BUG WATCH: PC World urges Windows 95 users to send them e-mail with any bug
             reports you might discover while running Win95 or/and Win95
             applications at:
             bugwatch@pcworld.com


                   My Windows 95 Recomended Hardware Requirements


* Bare minimum hardware requirements to run Windows 95 (Microsoft guidelines):
- 386DX/33 (questionable)
- 4MB RAM (questionable)
- 540MB IDE hard disk (questionable)
- 1MB DRAM 32bit video card (way too slow)
- VGA 14 inch monitor (way too small)...
... not !

* Average minimum recommended hardware to run Windows 95:
- 486DX2/66 (minimum Pentium 75MHz recommended)
- 8MB RAM (12MB minimum recommended)
- 850MB IDE hard disk (1GB minimum hard disk recommended)
- double-speed CD-ROM with at least 300KB/sec transfer rate (quad-speed
  CD-ROM with 600KB/sec transfer rate recommended)
- 16bit FM stereo sound card, Sound Blaster compatible (16bit wavetable
  stereo sound card, Sound Blaster compatible recommended)
- 14,400 bps modem/fax (28,800 bps modem/fax recommended)
- 1MB DRAM 64bit video card (2MB VRAM/WRAM 64bit video card recommended)
- 15 inch 1024x768 SVGA monitor (17 inch 1200x1024 recommended).

* And when it comes to the amount of RAM memory chips, hard disk capacity,
video card accelerator performance, CD-ROM drive speed, modem performance,
sound card fidelity, and most importantly CPU speed and class, NOTHING IS
TOO MUCH for running today's 32bit demanding applications!
This is my idea of ideal PC system optimally tuned to run Windows 95/NT
(to date), if money is not an obstacle (!?):
- Quad SMP Pentium Pro 200MHz full tower (or Cirrus 686-200MHz) with 1MB 10
nanosec SRAM external Level 2 sync burst cache for each CPU;
- And if you want to get a true, safe, 32bit Operating System, then purchase
  Windows NT 4.0 Workstation (finally say NO to DOS!);
- PCI 2 PI/O mode 4 Bus Master EIDE motherboard controller;
- Universal Bus Master built-in the motherboard (when available);
- 6 32bit PCI card open slots, 6 16bit ISA card open slots;
- 6 open 5 1/4 inch external drive bays, 3 open 3 1/2 inch external drive
bays, 6 open 5 1/4 inch internal drive bays;
- 3 button high-resolution wireless mouse;
- 114 digital keys, touch-soft, wireless, ergonomic keyboard;
- high resolution, wireless pen tablet;
- 9GB Fast SCSI Wide, A/V, fast mode 3, 8ms random access time hard disk
with 1MB read-ahead buffer;
- 256MB 60 nanosec SDRAM memory chips installed;
- 12 speed SCSI-2 CD-ROM drive with 1800KB/sec transfer rate, 90msec random
access time and 1MB read ahead buffer;
- 10 speed (or faster) DVD-ROM internal drive (when available);
- 8 speed read/write CD-R recordable SCSI-2 internal drive with software;
- 20bit plug-and-play wavetable stereo sound card General Midi/Roland/Yamaha
and Sound Blaster compatible with: 8MB ROM real sound samples, 32 midi
channels, 64 note poliphony, reverb, chorus, 3D spatial surround stereo, 214
instruments, with dynamic high resolution microphone;
- external 8 octave, 200 instruments, 200 rhythms, 100 special effects MIDI
electronic keyboards, Roland/Yamaha compatible;
- external Dolby Surround Sound Pro Logic (DSP) 6 channels 200W/channel
HI-FI stereo sound amplifier AC3 and THX capable + three-way 250W front
speakers + 200W three-way center speaker + 200W two-way rear speakers +
300W super bass woofer;
- 450,000 bps compression error free, plug-and-play voice full duplex ISDN
modem/fax/phone, with high-fidelity background noise-free earphones, with
integrated directional, highly sensitive, digital microphone;
- 16MB SDVRAM RAM 192bit PCI video card accelerator: accelerated full
screen MPEG 1 and 2 capable (MPEG recording encoder/decoder included), with
accelerated video in DOS and Windows, integrated multimedia 3D rendering
RISC chip, Open GL and accelerated CAD capable;
- 4GB 14msec SCSI optical, rewritable, removable cartridge disk drive for
backups;
- Jazz SCSI-2 1GB internal cartridge backup drive 10msec random seek time;
- 1024x768 true color PAL/SECAM/NTSC1/NTSC2 video capture/record/playback
card with digital FM radio HI-FI stereo receiver, cable and sattelite
ready 200 channels TV digital tuner, with high resolution color video
camera for video conferencing;
- high luminance factor, 20x zoom lenses, integrated high resolution
microphone, Beta-CAM and S-VHS capable, PAL/SECAM/NTSC1/NTSC2 professional
camcorder;
- 8 heads, S-VHS and Beta-CAM capable, PAL/SECAM/NTSC1/NTSC2, 4 speeds,
DBS, MTS, professional editting capable, digital videorecorder;
- high speed 16500AFN UART buffered serial ports;
- 27 inch 0.22 dot pitch, plug-and-play, flat screen, 1600x1200, trapez,
pincushion, moire, color match, on-screen controls, antiglare, infrared
remote control monitor;
- dual EPP/ECP, buffered, high speed parralel ports;
- 1200x1200 dpi 16 million color match, 32MB RAM, 24 pages/min laser
printer;
- 2400x2400 dpi, single-path, flat-bed, cooled, 36bit true color scanner;
- 12 buttons, castle and hat, fully programable, 3D digital, analog
compatible joystick...
... and whatever other hardware you always wanted for your computer...
(Yeah, right... Dream on...)

... And now back to the real (computer) world:



                           General Guidelines



* To backup ALL Windows 95 vital system files:
- SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI and CONTROL.INI located in your
  Win95 folder, usually \WINDOWS
- DRVDATA.BIN and DRVIDX.BIN, located in the \WINDOWS\INF folder
- AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS, located in the root folder of your
  boot drive (usually C:\),
I created the batch file BAK95.BAT (included here).
If your Win95 boot drive is different than C:, change it. Also change the
name of your actual Win95 directory, if you installed Win95 into a directory
other than \WINDOWS. 
BAK95.BAT command lines:

@ECHO OFF
C:
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS GOTO BACKUP95
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS GOTO OUTAHERE
:BACKUP95
MD \BAK95
ATTRIB -H -R -S \MSDOS.SYS
ATTRIB -H -R -S \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB -H -R -S \WINDOWS\USER.DAT
COPY \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT \BAK95
COPY \WINDOWS\USER.DAT \BAK95
COPY \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI \BAK95
COPY \WINDOWS\WIN.INI \BAK95
COPY \WINDOWS\CONTROL.INI \BAK95
COPY \WINDOWS\INF\DRV*.BIN \BAK95
COPY \AUTOEXEC.BAT \BAK95
COPY \CONFIG.SYS \BAK95
COPY \MSDOS.SYS \BAK95
\ZIP\PKZIP -ex \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP \BAK95\*.*
ATTRIB +H +R +S \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB +H +R +S \WINDOWS\USER.DAT
ATTRIB +H +R +S \MSDOS.SYS
DELTREE /Y \BAK95
:OUTAHERE

To make this work, you need to install PKZIP.EXE, part of the PKWare version
2.04g Shareware Package (the most popular file compressing utility) found on
AOL, in most software areas (including Win95 area), usually in the Essential
Utilities area (or bring up the File Search screen, type PKZIP.EXE in the
keyword box, and then click the "List matching files" button).
The PKWare package is also available for download at most software Web sites.
Create a new directory/folder on your Win95 boot drive (usually C:), name it
ZIP and then install all PKZIP/PKUNZIP related files in the newly created
\ZIP folder.
Now you're ready to run BAK95.BAT. After running BAK95, look for the newly
created 95BAK.ZIP archive file in your \ZIP folder.
RES95.BAT restores all Win95 system files from the 95BAK.ZIP file, back to
their original locations, when you run it from the MS-DOS prompt command
line, OUTSIDE Win95 (exit Win95 to the MS-DOS prompt mode FIRST!).
RES95.BAT command lines (also included):

@ECHO OFF
C:
CD\
ATTRIB -H -R -S \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB -H -R -S \WINDOWS\USER.DAT
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB -H -R -S \MSDOS.SYS
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB -H -R -S \MSDOS.W40
DEL \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
DEL \WINDOWS\USER.DAT
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \MSDOS.SYS
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \CONFIG.SYS
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \AUTOEXEC.BAT
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \MSDOS.W40
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \CONFIG.W40
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS DEL \AUTOEXEC.W40
DEL \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI
DEL \WINDOWS\WIN.INI
DEL \WINDOWS\CONTROL.INI
\ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP *.DAT \WINDOWS
\ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP *.INI \WINDOWS
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS C:\ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP *.W40 \
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS \ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP MSDOS.SYS \
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS \ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP AUTOEXEC.BAT \
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS \ZIP\PKUNZIP -o \ZIP\95BAK.ZIP CONFIG.SYS \
ATTRIB +H +R +S \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB +H +R +S \WINDOWS\USER.DAT
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB +H +R +S \MSDOS.SYS
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB +H +R +S \MSDOS.W40



* For hints on how to adapt MSDOS.SYS to your system, read MYTIPS95.TXT (the
first 3 topics).
If you want to edit MSDOS.SYS yourself, here is SYS95.BAT to help you do just
that (run SYS95.BAT only under Win95 OS, not from any other previous OS
version!). I presumed that your Win95 boot drive is C: (change if different).
SYS95.BAT command lines (also included):

@ECHO OFF
C:
CD\
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB +A -H -R -S \MSDOS.SYS
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS EDIT \MSDOS.SYS
IF NOT EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB -A +H +R +S \MSDOS.SYS
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB +A -H -R -S \MSDOS.W40
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS EDIT \MSDOS.W40
IF EXIST \WINBOOT.SYS ATTRIB -A +H +R +S \MSDOS.W40



* Make the desired modifications to your startup files (AUTOEXEC.BAT,
CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS) located in your boot drive's root directory (ONLY
AFTER you BACKED UP your old files!).
You will need to change the attributes of your MSDOS.SYS back to: system,
hidden, read-only, before rebooting. Use the batch file SYS95.BAT (included
here) for that purpose.



* With a little luck (and a lot of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT tweaking) you
may be able to "squeeze" a few more KBytes of conventional RAM out of your
machine.
To see how much memory you have in your configuration, type:
MEM /C /P
at DOS prompt, OUTSIDE Win95, and press Enter (read the topic "MS-DOS PROMPT"
in MYTIPS95.TXT on how to exit to MS-DOS mode from Win95).
To see how your devices/TSRs/drivers are loaded, and the upper memory map,
run MSD at the DOS prompt, outside Windows:
MSD
Then press "M", at MSD's main screen.
To see the exact location of each driver (listed by the "MEM /C /P" command),
run:
MEM /M <device_name>
at the DOS prompt, outside Win95. Type the device name WITHOUT extension.
EXAMPLE: If you load MOUSE.COM from your autoexec.bat, type:
         MEM /M MOUSE
         and press Enter.
The display will show you exactly the conventional/upper memory regions where
that particular device is loaded and how much memory it takes (read the
REGIONS.TXT file for more technical info about MS-DOS upper memory regions).

NOTE: for more info on HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE parameters:
      1. Read the MSDOSDRV.TXT text file (open it with Notepad), the HIMEM.SYS
         and respectively the EMM386.EXE topics;
      2. Pop in your Win95 install CD-ROM, change to your CD-ROM drive, go to
         the \OTHER\OLDMSDOS folder (found on the Win95 install CD-ROM only)
         and  run "HELP" from the CD-ROM:
         HELP EMM386.EXE
         and then run:
         HELP HIMEM.SYS



* Just for fun, you may want to replace your LOGO.SYS file (located in the
root folder of your boot drive, usually C:) with this one, included here.
FIRST backup your own LOGO.SYS file (move it to another folder) and copy this
one to C:\ root (default). You'll see it next time you'll start Win95. Hope
you'll like it.
LOGO.SYS is just a Bitmap with another extension. You can open/view/modify it
with MSPaint (included with Win95), Lview Pro, or Paint Shop Pro etc...
HINT: LOGO.SYS (and the other 2 bitmaps found in your Win95 folder: LOGOW.SYS
and LOGOS.SYS) MUST be 320x400x256 colors to show up properly at bootup, load
and shutdown time!
Read NEWLOGO.TXT (included here) for detailed info on how to change the
default Win95 boot/startup/close logo(s) to the one(s) of your choice.


* To use EXTRACT.EXE (Microsoft's DOS program to extract files from the
Win95 installation .CAB files), here are 2 versions:
- EF.BAT, if you have the floppy version of Win95 installation disks;
- ECD.BAT, if you have the CD-ROM version of Win95 installation disk (this
one can also be used to extract files from your Microsoft Plus! CD-ROM).
EXTRACT.EXE is installed by default in your \WINDOWS\COMMAND directory.
Use the batch files with DOS wild cards. Example: to extract all *.SYS files
to the same (\EXTRACT) directory/folder, type:
MD \EXTRACT
ECD *.SYS
and press Enter after each line, if you have the Windows 95 CD-ROM.
Type the file's name to extract only a particular file. Example:
ECD MSDOSDRV.TXT
You may need to change your CD-ROM drive letter in ECD.BAT, if it is other
than D:, and your 3.5' floppy drive letter, if it's other than A: in EF.BAT.
To see a complete list of all CAB files in Win95's compressed installation
files, create a DOS batch file (name it LISTCAB.BAT and place it in a
directory in your path), with these lines:
@C:
@CD\
@MD \EXTRACT
@FOR %%x IN (D:\WIN95\*.CAB) DO EXTRACT /D %%x >> \EXTRACT\LISTCAB.TXT
@EDIT \EXTRACT\LISTCAB.TXT
NOTE: Change D: to your own CD-ROM drive letter and C: to your own primary
(boot) hard drive letter, if different than above.



* I included my own AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS files (the Win95
and DOS 6.22/Win 3.11 versions). My MS-DOS 6.22 startup files are named
AUTOEXEC.DOS and CONFIG.DOS. Open them with any text editor (Notepad).
The file MSD95.TXT shows my Win95 memory configuration, running Microsoft's
Diagnostics Utility version 2.13 (MSD.EXE), OUTSIDE Win95, at DOS prompt.
I also included my own memory configurations, using:
- MS Windows 95's own EMM386.EXE and HIMEM.SYS,
- Helix NetRoom's RM386.EXE ver 3.04 (latest update) and
- QuarterDeck's QEMM386.SYS ver 8.01 (their latest updated release).
Read DOS95MEM.TXT to see my "outside Win95" memory configurations with all
three memory managers described above.
For my memory configurations WITH WIN95 STARTED (at a DOS prompt inside
Win95), read WIN95MEM.TXT.
NOTE: FREE FOR REGISTERED USERS:
      1. Users of QuarterDeck QEMM memory manager version 8.00 (QEMM386.SYS)
         can upgrade to the new version 8.01 (DL the patch file) from this
         QuarterDeck web site:
         http://arachnid.qdeck.com/qdeck/products/QEMM/patch.html
      2. Users of Helix NetRoom memory manager version 3.04 (RM386.EXE) can
         upgrade to the new update, released 5/24/95, from Helix's Software
         web site (DL the file NEWFILES.EXE):
         http://www.helixsoftware.com/techsupp.html



* For NetRoom (Helix) or QEMM (Quarterdeck) users, you will NEED to add or
modify these following lines to your SYSTEM.INI file (found in your Windows
directory, typically C:\WINDOWS), in the [386enh] section:

[386enh]
SystemROMBreakPoint=false => ONLY with: Stealth or VidCloak/SysCloak enabled
EMMExclude=A000-FFFF => ANY QEMM or NetRoom configuration!
DualDisplay=true => ANY QEMM or NetRoom configuration!

to enable Windows to load with NetRoom or QEMM managers's special features
enabled in your CONFIG.SYS!
NOTE: The last QEMM upgrade version 8.01, and NetRoom's newest version 3.04,
do not need the first line above to work with Windows, ONLY IF YOU DON'T USE
ANY OF THEIR SPECIAL FEATURES (EBIOS/Video BIOS moving technologies to upper
or/and extended memory)!
The line "SystemROMBreakPoint=false" is only needed if you use QEMM's Stealth
or NetRoom's VidCloak/SysCloak features (I have no experience with 386MAX or
BlueMax).
Open SYSTEM.INI with Notepad, make the changes and save the file (after making
a backup copy!). Restart Windows.


* Helix Cloaking Multimedia Package users: DO NOT USE CACHECLK.EXE disk cache
with the Win95 OS:
1. It won't load and Win95 will prompt you to remove the Cacheclk line from
   your AUTOEXEC.BAT, or:
2. Windows 95 will start, but in MS-DOS 16bit compatibility mode (cannot load
   its own 32bit protected mode disk drivers, and you will experience
   decreased performance!)
Helix Software provides free updates/patches for: Multimedia Cloaking
Utilities, NetRoom Memory Manager, and Hurricane 2.0 for Windows 31/95
available from this web page:
http://www.helixsoftware.com/techsupp.html

NOTE: This is only my personal opinion about these comercial programs, and
      if you have any comments, please contact me at:
      AXCEL216@aol.com

NetRoom manager uses a proprietary technology called Cloaking, to let other
Helix Software drivers load in 32bit protected mode, in extended memory.
The Helix Cloaked devices (like Cacheclk) are not compatible with Win95, or
some of the DOS games that use the DOS Extender technology to load and use
the extended memory on your system at full extent (it is another 32bit
protected mode aproach). A DOS game that is not compatible with any of the
Helix memory management utilities is Dragon Lore CD-ROM (it only works with
MS-DOS's EMM386.EXE memory manager!).
Helix Multimedia Cloaking Package also includes an update for MSCDEX 2.23,
thjat loads also in extended memory, using only 1KB of upper RAM. Owners of
Multimedia Cloaking can DL the MSCDEX update from Helix home page, at:
http://www.helixsoftware.com/techsupp.html
But the latest from Logitech MouseWare, version 7.1 is based on the Cloaking
technology, ans is aimed to Windows 95 users, providing freely distributed
mouse drivers (and Win95 custom cursors) for DOS and Windows 3.1x and 95.
Their DOS mouse driver loads into extended memory, leaving your upper and
conventional memory for loading other needed TSR-s/drivers.
Logitech MouseWare 7.1 is available from AOL's PC World area, the Win95
section, Miscellaneous Apps (filename LOGI71.ZIP). I haven't found Logitech
Mouse drivers 7.1 anywhere on the internet so far.
Speaking about Hurricane 2.0 for Windows 95/31, released by Helix software
(a comercial program, which can be found for about 35-45 bucks at most
computer stores, or through mail order businesses/warehouses).
This is the best utility (so far) for fixing memory related issues under
Windows 31/95:
1. For Windows 3.1x Hurricane 2.0 provides:
   - Unlimited Breaking Points (Windows 3.1x is limited to a maximum size of
     768, ONLY IF you add this line to your SYSTEM.INI's [386enh] section:
     MaxBPs=768);
   - Video adapter acceleration, providing its own proprietary video driver,
     feature that can be ignored if you already have an accelerated 64bit PCI
     video card installed;
   - Printing job acceleration through proprietary Print Cache;
   - Improved Virtual 32bit File Access driver, to replace VCACHE.386 that
     comes with Windows for WorkGroups 3.1x;
   - Virtual RAM Drive (to use as temporary directory to store Windows
     temporary files), dynamically expandable to your system's full extended
     memory amount;
   - adjustable size 32bit read-only Sector Cache for all floppy and CD-ROM
     drives on your system;
   - better memory management for DOS Applications that run in Windows DOS
     boxes;
   - XMS (extended memory) accelerator;
   - RAM compression/expanding feature;
   - Mode Switch acceleration;
   - Protected Mode Virtual Interrupts improvement;
   - Virtual Mode Extensions protection;
   - Page Table Extensions protection;
   - GPF protection;
   - Heap Expander;
   - Windows Applications Memory Compacting feature;
   - Windows Guard.
2. For Windows 95 Hurricane 2.0 provides:
   - Virtual RAM Drive (to use as temporary directory to store Windows
     temporary files), dynamically expandable to your system's full extended
     memory amount;
   - XMS (extended memory) accelerator;
   - GPF protection;
   - RAM compression/expanding feature;
   - Windows Applications Memory Compacting feature;
   - Windows Guard;
   - Mode Switch acceleration;
   - Printing job acceleration through proprietary Print Cache.

UPDATE: Helix Software support web site, has now the latest updates (the
        Hurricane 2.0 patch to the new version 2.02), free for registered
        users of Hurricane 2.0, at:
        http://www.helixsoftware.com/techsupp.html
        


* Try NOT to use ANY special memory management features (QEMM's "Stealth" or
NetRoom's "VidCloak" and/or "SysCloak") that move the Video ROM/Extended ROM
BIOS to upper/extended memory or above the 1st meg! Windows is not very
happy about these "moves" (some DOS programs especially are "allergic" to
these advanced "features" and it may lockup your machine unexpectedly!).



* With all the TSRs/devices/drivers loaded in the upper memory area you may be
able to "squeeze" a maximum of 625KB of free conventional memory outside
Windows 95 (at the MS-DOS prompt OUTSIDE WIN95: choosing to boot with the
"Command prompt only" option at bootup), without using any 3rd party memory
management special features (and you'll NEVER need more than 620KB of free low
RAM EVER to run ANY DOS program or game, made in the past 3-4 years for IBM
compatibles)!

NOTE: For detailed info on running Windows 95/MS-DOS 7.00 with your own 3rd
      party memory manager READ your memory manager documentation/manual (QEMM,
      386MAX, NetRoom, BlueMax, CEMM, etc...)!



UPDATE: For owners of ATI Mach64 PCI video controllers (WinTurbo or Graphics
        Pro Turbo models), ATI Technologies has posted the new version 2.2 of
        their DirectDraw display drivers for Win95. You can DL the new ATI
        32bit drivers from:
        http://www.atitech.ca/drivers/drivers.html
UPDATE: For owners of Sound Blaster 16 or AWE 32 sound cards, Creative Labs
        has new drivers for Win95 (version 4.28) which provide, among other
        features, Full Duplex for video Conferencing. They're available from:
        http://www.creaf.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftp.html



*** A MUST HAVE!

The new VESA VGA/SVGA standard is VBE 2.0 (VESA BIOS Extensions). SciTech
Software just released its new version 5.3 of the 32bit protected mode, VBE
2.0 standard video accelerated drivers. It's actually a complete set of video
calibration tools that supports most video cards and monitors, in ANY text,
graphics, vga, and svga mode, any number of colors, in DOS and Windows.
SciTech's Display Doctor 5.3 (released 8/19/96) can be DL-ed from:
1. http://www.scitechsoft.com/univbe.html
2. AOL: type SCITECH in the File Search keyword box.
Even the newer 64bit video adapters can benefit from having these drivers
loaded in memory, especially in SVGA graphical modes.
The DOS mode driver loaded in your AUTOEXEC.BAT by SciTech's install is
UNIVBE.EXE. Univbe v5.3 takes 13KB of upper memory, if properly loaded high:
LH C:\SCITECH\UNIVBE -W
NOTE: SciTech's Universal VBE version 5.3 is provided as Shareware (21 days
      evaluation). Read the included documentation files for details!
There are a large number of DOS and Windows applications that use the features
of accelerated VESA VBE 2.0 standards. Among them:

3D Realms                     Blood
                              Quake
                              Duke Nukem 3D

Access Software               Links/386
                              The pandora Directive
                              Under a Killing Moon

Accolade                      Unnecessary Roughness 96

Adobe                         Acrobat Reader (DOS)

AutoDesk                      AutoCAD Release 12
                              AutoShade
                              Animator
                              Animator Pro

Bentley systems               MicroStation

Blizzard Entertainment        WarCraft II

Bullfrog                      Magic Carpet CD-ROM
                              Magic Carpet 2 CD-ROM

Compton's Newmedia            Songs from Bear Country

Interplay                     The Sim City Series
                              Virtual Pool

Legend Entertainment          Deathgate
                              Mission Critical

Looking Glass Technologies    Flight Unlimited
                              Terra Nova

Lucas Arts                    Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
                              Tie Fighter CD-ROM

Maxis Strategic Simulations   The SimCity CD-ROM

Mindscape                     Angel Devoid

Novell                        The Word Perfect Series (DOS)

Papyrus Design Group          Nascar Racing
                              Indy Car II

Sierra Publishing             Phantasmagoria
                              Space Quest 6
                              Torin's Passage

Smith & Wesson                IdentiKit

Spectrum Holobyte             Star Trek Next Generation: A Final Unity

Take 2 Interactive            Bill Cosby's Picture Pages
                              Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller

Time Warner Interactive       Rise of the Robots

Trilobyte                     The 7th Guest
                              The 11th Hour

Viacom New Media              Zoop

Virgin Interactive            Zone Raiders



* And check out my W95.BAT batch file. I start Windows 95 running it from
the DOS prompt (I boot to MS-DOS mode in Windows 95 OS). You may find some
interesting lines there, you can use (adapted to your system, of course).



... AND CREDITS

My machine is a Zenon Z-Titan P90 PCI, with a 90MHz Pentium, with 32MB 70
nanosec RAM SIMMs, PCI 2 bus, using a 1.08GB Western Digital Caviar AC31000H
EIDE hard drive with 10msec random seek time, and an ATI Technologies Mach64
WinTurbo PCI with 4MB VRAM video card controller.
I use an internal 28800/14400 baud Apache MicroDirect modem/fax (with an
16550AFN UART).
I use a 17 inch 0.26 dot pitch Optiquest 4000DC 1200x1024 color match,
on-screen controls, EPA and DPMS compliant, non-interlaced monitor.
I use a Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16bit ASP stereo sound card with a Wave
Blaster 2 daughter card (sporting the EMU8000 chip, with 128 General MIDI
instruments and 2MB of ROM instruments/sounds built-in), and an 8x speed
internal IDE CD-ROM drive (256KB buffer and 145 miliseconds random access
time) made by NEC Inc., and sold by Turtle Beach Systems as TBS 8000
High-Performance 8x CD-ROM drive.
I'm still using my old double-speed CD-ROM (connected to a proprietary 8bit
interface on the Sound Blaster 16 ASP card, made by Matsushita Kotobuki and
sold as 2x OmniCD by Creative Labs), only to play my audio CD-s.
I have 2 floppy drives installed: a 3.5 inch 1.44MB, and an old 5.25 inch
1.2MB.
I connected the sound card output and input lines to my Pioneer VSX-453 75W
per channel, stereo HI-FI amplifier, with 5 channels Dolby Surround Sound,
hooked to a pair of Technnics 200W 3-way front, KLH 50W 3-way center, and
KLH 50W 2-way rear speakers.
I'm running both Windows 95+MS-DOS 7.00, and 3.11 for Workgroups+MS-DOS 6.22,
with Win95's dual-boot feature installed (in MS-DOS mode, outside Windows, I
have 624-628KB of free conventional memory, depending on the memory manager
loaded).

TIP: Users of Sound Blaster 16 cards with the ASP chip installed can DL the
QSound Creative Labs' proprietary 3D stereo enhancement technology software
upgrade (filename SB16UP.EXE), from this Creative Labs web site, at:
http://www.creaf.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftp.htm
Look for Drivers/Patches/Sound Drivers when you get there (also read the
index.txt files for each ftp directory).
Make sure you read the README.TXT file instructions on how to do this, after
download!
This Qsound version uses the driver CSP.SYS version 1.12 to enable Qsound,
and you won't need the CTMMSYS.SYS and CTDRV.SYS device drivers loaded in
CONFIG.SYS anymore (to provide 180 degrees 3D stereo enhancements from two
speakers).
QSOUND UPDATE: The new version of Sound Blaster 16 drivers update (file name
S16DW3UP.EXE, UPD-STD-03, Revision 1, Sound Blaster DOS/Win3.1 Software
Updates Disk for SOUND BLASTER 16 Users), which also sports the QSound
feature (built-in the CSP.SYS version 1.14 driver, and doesn't need the
CTMMSYS.SYS and/or the CTDRV.SYS device drivers loaded in CONFIG.SYS
anymore), is available for DL from:
http://www.creaf.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftpnew.html



Trademarks:

- MS DOS 5.00,
- MS-DOS 6.00,
- MS-DOS 6.20,
- MS-DOS 6.21,
- MS-DOS 6.22,
- MS-DOS 7.00,
- MS Windows 3.00,
- MS Windows 3.10,
- MS Windows for WorkGroups 3.10,
- MS Windows for WorkGroups 3.11,
- MS Windows 95 and
- MS Plus! for Windows 95
  are trademarks of Microsoft (COMERCIAL programs);
- DosMax 2.1 is trademark of Phillip B. Gardner (SHAREWARE);
- NetRoom 3.xx is trademark of Helix Software (COMERCIAL);
- QEMM 8.0x is trademark of QuarterDeck Systems (COMERCIAL).


I will be running Windows 95/MS-DOS 7.00 on my machine and I'm going
to post new tips online as soon as I'll come up with new ideas.
Hope you'll find something useful in here. Enjoy!
If you have any comments/ideas/questions/sugestions etc... send me a
"wire" at:
AXCEL216@aol.com

Regards and best of luck!