Software Help
These help pages were compiled
for the use of customers of Best Price Computers Ltd. We will be delighted if they are of
use to anyone else. However please read the disclaimer carefully.
Preparing the Hard Disk:
You cannot install Windows 95 on a Hard Disk that has not
been formatted, has a lot of damaged sectors and/or has insufficient free space.
Partitioning a
Hard Disk
Partitioning: A new hard disk
has to be first partitioned. Whether you intend to split the hard disk in two or more
virtual hard disks...... or just use it as one hard disk, you need to have a boot up floppy with the fdisk command on it. Note: Fdisk-ing a hard disk will completely erase all existing data; data
which will then become unrecoverable.
1. Ensure that your machine's BIOS
has recognised the hard disk and that it is set to boot from the Floppy Disk Drive. Insert
your boot disk and power up your computer.
2. You should arrive at the A:/
called the A Prompt. Type in fdisk at the A:/ Prompt. (Depending on what version of fdisk
you've got you may or may not get a text screen asking you if you want to enable
Fat32/Large Disk Support. Should you choose "No" at this stage you will not be
able to create any partitions over the 2 GB limit).The main Fdisk screen should give you 4
to 5 choices which are self explanatory.
3. Following the menu system you will need to create the
partition/partitions of your choice. Note: You will need to ensure that partition 1 is set
active if you wish to be able to boot up from that hard disk in future. Once done
press Esc and re-boot the computer
4. You can verify that you have the partitions right by
re-booting the computer, going back to the fdisk
command, and using option 4 on the main fdisk screen.
Note: Fdisk-ing a hard disk will completely
erase all existing data; data which will then become unrecoverable
You will need to re-boot the computer using your boot disk
before you can format your newly partitioned hard disk.
Formatting of
Hard Disk:
You will need a computer with at least one hard disk, and a
bootable floppy disk with the
"format" command on it. Note: Formatting a hard disk will
erase all data on it including your operating system.
1. First ensure that your hard disk is registered in the
BIOS and properly partitioned.
2. Set your BIOS to boot
from the floppy first.
3. Insert your bootable floppy disk and power the computer
up.
4. When you arrive at the A:/
prompt you will need to type in the following exactly: format
c:
This will format the hard disk. There are several options
you can use with the format command including the /s
command. The /s , used as in format c: /s , will format the disk and also copy
the system files onto the hard disk so that it can boot on its own without any further
help from the boot floppy.
Start the computer up again, but this time without the
floppy disk. You should arrive at a C:/
prompt. Any messages saying "ROM not found" or "please insert boot
disk" may mean that the "system" files haven't been copied from your floppy
to the hard disk. You will need to re-insert the floppy, boot up again from floppy, and at
the A:/ prompt type: sys
c:
Making a boot disk
Making a boot up floppy disk is relatively easy if you have
a working computer. Unfortunately, the time you need it most is when your computer is not
working. Such is life. Do not despair. You can create the disk on a friend's computer.
Boot up into the operating system. If it is a Windows 95 or Windows 98 based computer, you
can go into the Control Panel and Add/Remove Programs and then Start
Up disk. You will need to have 1 blank floppy disk. Just follow
instructions on screen.
To make a boot up disk from a DOS prompt, start up the DOS
based machine, place your blank floppy disk in the A: drive and then type in, at the C:/ prompt: format A: /s
Once you have created a boot up floppy disk it may be an
idea to find and copy important utility files like format.com, scandisk.exe,
mscdex.exe and edit.com onto the boot floppy disk.
For more help on boot disks try troubleshooters.com at: Troubleshooters
Setting the Bios
Note: The improper use of the CMOS/BIOS
settings can cause your machine to stop working. It is advisable to get professional help
before making any changes to the BIOS.
The BIOS/CMOS on your motherboard stores information about
your hardware. It stores, among other things, the size of your hard disk, the setting for
your COM ports, and several user preferences. The BIOS also needs to be told where to look
for the boot up files. If you want the
computer to start from a boot up floppy you
will need to verify that the BIOS is set to look first in the floppy drive for a bootable floppy disk before attempting to boot
from the hard disk.
Fortunately, one does not need to access the motherboard to
make changes to the BIOS. Many computers give a message on screen a second or two on
turning the power on saying "Press Del to enter Setup". To get into the BIOS of
other computers you may need to try different keys like "esc" or the space bar.
Contact your computer supplier if you are unsure about how to make changes to the BIOS.
Once in, take care to navigate the BIOS menu screens carefully and change only the
settings you need.
If you have already changed several of the settings in the
BIOS and are now stuck, (which is something you wouldn't do, of course) then your only
option may be to reset the BIOS to the 'default' or factory settings. You may have an
option to reset it to 'optimal' or 'best performance'. However, if you do reset the bios
to any of the above then there are some key changes that you will need to make before you
save it and exit. The main ones are to run an IDE autodetect to detect the hard disks, CD
drives and Internal Zip drives. You may need to enable the USB, set the machine to boot
from the floppy disk before looking for a hard disk, and/or enable/disable/reset Com and
Parallel ports. That's where this help ends. The specific changes you need to make will
vary depending on what hardware is in your machine (and several other factors). Advice:
Talk to a trained technician.
Note: The BIOS on some computers may be protected with a
password and may not allow you access. This is a user defined password and if you have
lost it then resetting the BIOS to circumvent the security password is a hardware job that
requires opening the case, and is out of the scope of this software help section.
Installation
of Windows 95
You need a computer capable of running Windows 95,
sufficient free space on your hard disk C, a copy of the Windows 95 program on CD on
Floppy disks, a Windows 95 User License number, drivers for your CD ROM drive, and ideally
a blank formatted hard disk with just the system files on it (and the CD ROM driver should
you wish to install from CD). Windows 95 is best installed on a machine that doesn't
already have it. Should you try re-installing over an already faulty installation then the
chances are that you will only compound your problems.
1. Start up your computer and allow it to boot up from C.
Install MSDOS if you have it. If you don't you will need to have a copy of the mscdex.exe
file on a floppy.
2. If you wish to install from a CD-ROM you will need to
have the CD ROM drive program files or drivers loaded into the computer. See installing CD
ROM drivers.
3. Type in A:
or X: (where X is the drive letter of your
CD drive - usually drive D or E or F) depending on whether your copy of Windows is on
Floppy Disks or a CD
4. Type setup
5. Then follow instructions on screen.
6. On completion of the installation of Windows 95, you
will need to set up/install drivers for various devices the computer uses including
soundcard, videocard, modem, printer, scanner. These can sometimes be a little tricky even
if they are Plug n Play devices. If you bought your computer from us at Best Price Computers Ltd
further help is at hand - just click here to go to our hardware
help section.
Error Messages: The installation of
Windows should go smoothly but there are occasions when you are faced with an error
message. While we can't cover all the error messages and explain their meanings, the main
one is a message on 'compressed disks'. Windows may halt loading because it thinks there
is a compression package on your hard disk (disk doubling). This could be because the
system files (boot up files) on your hard disk are from a version of Windows 95 different
to the one you are installing from.You can still go ahead and install Windows 95.
Setting up drivers
Devices in your computer like the video, sound and modem
will not work correctly till you have installed the drivers for them. Click here for driver installation information.
Installing CD
ROM drivers
Installing drivers for a CD ROM Drive is easy in that many
drivers will work on drives from other manufacturers. You may find that a Samsung CD
driver will work on a Hitachi CD drive, which is something that cannot be said of
soundcards, videocards or modems. However, you do need to have a certain few files on your
hard disk before the installed CD driver will work to give you a fully functional CD ROM
drive.
The most important of these files is one called mscdex.exe.
It will automatically be on your hard disk if you have MSDOS or Windows 95 already
installed in the machine. You could also copy it from another computer onto a Floppy disk.
The tricky part is that some CD Drivers may require that file be not just on the root
directory of C but in a sub directory called DOS, or Windows. It wouldn't hurt to create a
directory called DOS and one called Windows, and copy the mscdex.exe
file into both of them.
Since we are doing this in a DOS environment i.e. from a C:/ prompt it will require the knowledge of some
of the basic DOS commands. You will need to type md DOS
and md windows (where the md stands for Make
Directory). Provided you have the mscdex.exe file on your floppy on the root directory C
you can type in, either at the A:/ or C:/ prompt - the two commands: copy mscdex.exe c:\dos and
copy
mscdex.exe c:\windows.
If copying from a floppy disk you can also copy it to your
root directory C using copy mscdex.exe c:\
The next step is to actually install
the drivers. You will need to use the floppy disk with the CD driver. Go to the A:/
prompt by typing A: and then use a dir/w command to get
a listing of files on the floppy. The installation file will probably be called install
or setup or setupd or cdinstall or cdsetup
depending on the make of your CD Drive. It could also have another name but it will
probably be an exe file i.e. a file with exe as the last part of it's name. Once you have
identified the name of the file that launches the CD setup program, typing that name in at
the A:/ prompt will start the CD Drive driver installation. Following the
instructions on screen it shouldn't take more than a minute or two to be completely
installed. On re-booting the computer from the hard disk C, you should now have a
fully working CD drive. Place a non-music CD into the drive and you should be able to go
the DOS prompt for the CD Drive (D, or E or F, usually) by typing D: (or E or F, as the
case may be). You can use the dir command again to see what is on the CD
ROM.
General
Troubleshooting: For general troubleshooting with software problems try: Troubleshooters.com
Disclaimer
We, Best Price Computers Ltd
have provided substantial help information in our on-line help section. Please note that
advice here relates only to computer hardware bought from us and may be inappropriate and
damaging to equipment purchased elsewhere. We, along with our service providers, hosts,
telephone providers and associated companies take no responsibility for any damage, loss,
or malfunction caused directly or indirectly by use or misuse of any information contained
in the help pages and the pages/sites that they are linked to.Users of this help section
do so entirely at their own risk. We regret that we cannot accept telephone enquiries for
hardware/software support on equipment not bought from us.
Before calling us for support
please have your purchase receipt number from Best Price Computers Ltd,all your
drivers,and your item serial code ready.
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