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Optimal DualBoot Installation for Windows 95 and Windows 3.x 
All existing applications and settings are preserved in both environments with a minimal amount of modification and hassle.

There have been a number of suggestions from both Microsoft and others as to how to best install Windows 95 on a system with an existing Windows 3.x environment and create a functioning dualboot environment.  They all have significant drawbacks.  I have created the following technique to be elegantly simple (within reason) and completely effective.

Proper completion of this technique requires sufficient free hard drive space that I can only estimate as approximately 2 x ( W + D ) where W is the size of your current WINDOWS directory (including all sub-directories) and D is the size of your old DOS directory.  A REAL rough estimate to be sure.  Just remember, peak space usage can include the new Windows 95 directory, the new DOS directory, the old DOS directory and a zipped copy of it, and the old Windows 3.x directory and a zipped copy of it. ( the zipped copies can be deleted after the process is completed ).  And please, don't try this at home kids if any of these instructions look like Greek (Geek?) to you. Hopefully anyone trying a dualboot setup will know enough Geek to follow these instructions.  Finally, the "DOS" and "WINDOWS" directory names are examples which are fairly standard on most machines but may have to be modified to match the specific names in use on your machine.

Since you are reading this file you have a copy of PKUNZIP already.  I have included PKZIP and PKUNZIP in the DUALBOOT.ZIP file that you extracted this file from.  I have also included some sample files to serve as examples for some of the following instructions.

1)  Boot to a C: prompt.  If you automatically start Windows 3.x from your AUTOEXEC.BAT leave Windows to return to the C: prompt.

2)  Execute the commands: 
	C:
	CD \
	PKZIP -rP -ex DOS DOS\*.*              creating C:\DOS.ZIP
 	MOVE WINDOWS WINDOWS3                  renaming C:\WINDOWS to C:\WINDOWS3
	PKZIP -rP -ex WINDOWS3 WINDOWS3\*.*    creating C:\WINDOWS3.ZIP
	MOVE WINDOWS3 WINDOWS                  renaming C:\WINDOWS3 back to C:\WINDOWS

3)  Start Windows.  Using your install diskettes or CD-ROM, install Windows 95 as a dual boot installation over your existing copy of Windows and select C:\WINDOWS as the target directory.  The new Windows 95 DOS "stuff" - surprise! DOS is still there! sorry Microsoft :) - will be placed in the COMMAND sub-directory under the Windows 95 directory.

4)  From your brand new Windows 95 DeskTop, go to the DOS prompt and Execute the commands:
	C:
	CD \

	ATTRIB MSDOS.SYS -H -R -S	so this new Windows 95 text file can be edited
	EDIT MSDOS.SYS			under the line	BootGUI=1
					add the line	BootMulti=1   and save and exit
					this enables the Windows 95 dual booting feature
	ATTRIB MSDOS.SYS +H +R +S	to return it to its original state

	MOVE DOS DOSAFT95		renaming C:\DOS to C:\DOSAFT95
					delete DOSAFT95 later but save it for now
	PKUNZIP -d DOS.ZIP		recreating your old DOS directory from DOS.ZIP
					delete DOS.ZIP later but save it for now
	PKUNZIP -d WINDOWS3.ZIP		recreating your old WINDOWS3 directory from WINDOWS3.ZIP
					delete WINDOWS3.ZIP later but save it for now
	ATTRIB *.DOS -H -R		take any hidden,readonly attributes off *.DOS files
					these are the configuration files from the old DOS

	EDIT CONFIG.DOS			check for any references to files in C:\WINDOWS
					change any such references to C:\DOS and save
					THEN MAKE SURE TO ***
					copy any files so referenced from C:\WINDOWS3 to C:\DOS

	EDIT AUTOEXEC.DOS		insert these lines at beginning, and save
		@ECHO OFF
		IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS4\WIN.COM GOTO SWITCHED
		C:
		CD\
		MOVE WINDOWS  WINDOWS4
		MOVE WINDOWS3 WINDOWS
		:SWITCHED

	EDIT BACKTO95.BAT		insert these lines at beginning, and save
		@ECHO OFF
		IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS3\WIN.COM GOTO SWITCHED
		C:
		CD\
		MOVE WINDOWS  WINDOWS3
		MOVE WINDOWS4 WINDOWS
		:SWITCHED

5)  Shutdown Windows 95.
	Reboot (cold boot may be necessary depending on your installed hardware.  I have noticed this requirement with machines with modems and/or network cards)
	PRESS the F4 key as soon as you see the message   Starting Windows 95...

6)  You will see a message like   Rebooting your old version of MS/DOS   and that's just what will happen.  The old DOS will come up just as it did before the upgrade, the added lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT (renamed from AUTOEXEC.DOS during the boot process) will swap the two Windows directories, and you will be safely back in the old DOS / WINDOWS 3.x environment.

7)  From now on, any time you have booted to your old DOS / WINDOWS 3.x environment, and you are ready to shutdown or reboot with the intention of starting up Windows 95 next time, just run the BACKTO95.BAT command file to swap the Windows directories back to their default state.  Remember that, by default, you boot to Windows 95 and if you have not run BACKTO95 after a previous DOS / WINDOWS 3.x session you will get lots of serious-looking but perfectly harmless error messages. Just reboot, press F4 at the Starting Windows 95... message, then run BACKTO95 at the DOS prompt and reboot to the default Windows 95 environment.

8)  All existing applications and their settings and their OLE registrations are preserved in both environments without any .ini file or reg.dat editing.  Any new installations of Windows 3.x software MAY have to be done to the same destination directory under both environments but first try just installing to a Windows 3.x environment and running it under Windows 95.  This will work just fine for many applications (not OLE apps for sure).  Windows 95 software will only need to be installed under the Windows 95 environment. 



*** During any bootup coming from a previous Windows 95 environment, CONFIG.DOS will be renamed to CONFIG.SYS and executed BEFORE the AUTOEXEC that will do the necessary swap of the two Windows directories.  If there are any such references, change them to point to the C:\DOS directory and copy the files from the Windows 3.x directory ( C:\WINDOWS3 at this point) to the old C:\DOS directory.




