Facts for |  | by Beverly Rosenbaum |
Q: How do I format floppy disks under Windows 95? There is no option on the Windows Explorer menu.
A: You can accomplish this task in one of two ways. The first method of formatting a disk is to insert it into its drive and double-click the My Computer icon. Then click the icon for the disk you want to format. From the File menu, click Format. Be sure not to double-click the disk icon, because you can't format a disk if it is open in My Computer or Windows Explorer.
An alternate method would be to click the right mouse button as the drive icon is highlighted to bring up a context-sensitive menu which also includes the Format option.
In the dialog box that follows, there are three format types. You can use the first, Quick Erase, if your disk is previously formatted and you wish only to remove the files. The Full format option will prepare a previously unformatted disk so that you can store information there. The full format may include system files if you desire. The last type copies only the system files to a previously formatted disk, making it bootable, or capable of starting your computer. From this screen you can also choose the correct capacity for the disk, as well as provide a label up to 11 characters. Formatting a disk removes all information from that disk, but you cannot perform this operation if there are files open on that disk.
Q: When I tested my Windows 95 Startup Disk, I discovered that I cannot access my CD-ROM drive. This is not acceptable, because all of my original software is on CD-ROM. If my system really DID go down, how would I reinstall my software?
A: While Windows 95 does not include the CD-ROM drivers on the Startup Disk, you can and should add the drivers manually. Your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files already contain the commands necessary to load those drivers. Just copy those two files from the root directory of your hard disk to the Startup Disk, and note the location of the driver(s). Then, using the Windows Explorer, locate and copy the CD-ROM driver(s) from the folder on your hard disk to the Startup Disk. Launch NotePad or WordPad to remove all lines from the copy of your CONFIG.SYS file except those which load the CD-ROM driver(s), and edit the line(s) to load the driver(s) from the Startup Disk. Using Windows Explorer, locate the Windows Command folder and copy the MSCDEX.EXE extension driver to your Startup Disk. Again using NotePad or WordPad, remove every line in the copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file except the one that loads MSCDEX.EXE, and edit that line to load the driver from the Startup Disk. Once you have copied the drivers and modified both files on the Startup Disk, you will be able to access your CD-ROM drive and software when you boot your system with the Startup Disk.
Q: When I try to download from the Internet while using Netscape browser, it attempts to open a viewer, fails, and aborts the download. I am not given an opportunity to select the "Save to Disk" option. Why?
A: Open the Options menu, select General Preferences, Helpers, and make sure that the action for the file type you are trying download is either Save to Disk or Prompt User. Browse through the list until you find application/octet-stream (extensions.EXE) and application/x-zip-compressed (extension zip). Viewing a text file onscreen with a helper application is appropriate, but you should not associate any application with archived .zip or self-extracting .exe files. With the file type highlighted, you can choose from among Save to Disk, Prompt User, View in Browser, or Launch Application. The most flexible choice would be Prompt User. After making the desired choices on this screen, select Options, Save Options. Now when you try to download a file, the following four choices will appear in a dialog box: More Info, Pick App, Save File, or Cancel. Selecting Save File at this point will then open another dialog box that allows you to rename the file and choose the directory in which to save it.
Q: I am getting an error when I load Windows which tells me that a specific file in the Windows\System subdirectory cannot be found or is corrupted. I called the tech support of my computer manufacturer, and I was told to reformat my hard drive. Is this necessary?
A: In further discussing your problem you told me that your system was operating properly in DOS, and that the only Windows application which failed to work correctly was your newly-installed dictation system. Since the error message had given you the name of the problem file, the trouble was confined to a small area of your system, and was not a global problem. You also were able to find the file in question in the right subdirectory, a clue which told me that it was present and possibly corrupted. That led me to believe that other files may be corrupted or cross-linked, and after you ran your ScanDisk application, several such problems were found and repaired. You were then able to use your DOS utility to expand another copy of the necessary driver (VDHPC.38_) from your installation CD to (VDHPC.386 in) your Windows/System directory. Formatting your hard disk should always be a last resort, as such drastic measures are rarely necessary. Sometimes, if you get questionable advice from a tech support person, you should make another call to hear what a different person may advise you. You would also appreciate the value of a backup if you had to replace everything on your hard drive.
The following question is an excerpt from Q&A at http://www.datafellows.com, makers of F-Prot virus protection software.
Q: Soon after I installed Windows 95 on my computer, I noticed that Windows writes on my non-write-protected diskettes even if I only browse the diskettes' directory listings. Why is that? Is it harmful?
A: Windows 95 does indeed act in this peculiar manner, but the actual reason it does so is not known. Microsoft's technical documentation states that, for the purposes of detecting disk changes, Windows 95 writes on diskettes' boot sectors when the diskettes are used, but in reality Windows 95 also writes on the diskettes' root directories. Windows 95 seems to make a note of all the EXE files it has not previously seen. These notes are stored in an unused area in directory information, and they take up two bytes per. The bytes are apparently time-stamped checksums of the file's directory information. If Win95 has previously encountered a similar EXE file on the hard disk, on a diskette, or in the network, it won't make a note of the file. Windows does not examine the file's contents - instead, it seems to maintain a database about EXE files' directory information. Win95 does not make notes about COM files, nor does it try to write on write-protected diskettes. The writing in directories seems most probably connected to the Windows 95 icon cache function. In any case, Windows 95 does write on non-write-protected diskettes during normal read procedures. This may hamper the functioning of certain copy-protection programs and nonstandard diskettes, but it is not harmful or part of virus activity.
Keep those questions (and answers) coming to Facts for the FAQ's, care of HAL-PC or our HALNet Journal web page [http://www.hal-pc.org].
Beverly Rosenbaum is a HAL-PC member. Copyright 1996 by Beverly Rosenbaum
Have you got a fact or a FAQ? Send it in, so that we can share it with everyone! Get your questions to us any way you can: E-mail me at brosen@hal-pc.org, leave messages on the bulletin board or at Headquarters, submit them during the question and answer period preceding the monthly General Meeting, or mail them in and we'll publish them in the Journal as space permits. Beverly Rosenbaum is a HAL-PC member. Copyright © 1995 by Beverly Rosenbaum.
This page is best viewed using Netscape ver. 2.0b5 or higher. Designed by Meredith Foster. E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.
Back to the User Journal Home Page