HOW TO INSTALL WINDOWS 95 FROM SCRATCH

by Leslie Chong, CNE, MCSE, Linux+

Assuming you have a computer with a blank hard drive and a CD-ROM drive, the steps to install Windows 95 on the computer are as follows:

A) Preparing the hard drive:

Use the boot disk (customized) to boot up, that is, insert it to the floppy drive and power up the PC.

At the A:\> prompt type fdisk, like

A:\>fdisk

fdisk "partitions" your hard drive, that is divides your hard drive into drives for you to load software onto, e.g. if the hard drive is 6GB size, you may partition a c:\ drive of 4GB size and a d:\ drive of 2GB size.

At the screen, asking if you want to have large disk support, type Y for Yes if you are installing Windows Version B or Version C.

Follow the prompt to create your C: drive.

After creating the c: drive, you need to format it. To do so, at the prompt type:

A:\>format c: /u

or

A:\>format c: /u /autotest

B) Installing WIndows 95

Put your Microsoft Windows 95 CD in the CD drive.

Reboot with the boot disk in the floppy drive.

This time you can select to boot with the first type of CD ROM drive on the list. Note down the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive reported to you, e.g. it might be D:

After booting, change to the CD drive (if it is D:) by typing, e.g.:

A:\> d:

The prompt goes to the D: drive:

D:\>

Start your Windows 95 installation by typing:

D:\>setup

and follow the prompts till finish.

Issues

If Windows does not have the driver for any component that is on your computer, it will ask you for a source for the driver - in this case you need to have it on a floppy or a CD. You would need to get it from the computer maker or the Internet first for this part of the installation (or cancel it) to proceed. If the driver is not installed, this component will not function in your Windows computer.