| Windows
98
Minimum Hardware Requirements for Windows 98 Intel 486DX, 66MHz processor or higher Windows 98 requires an Intel-based 486DX/66 processor with 16MB of RAM. Either FAT16 or FAT32 file systems can be used, but FAT16 must be used for compatibility with almost anything else (including Windows NT). FAT32 has many more features than FAT16, but it is not compatible with Windows NT 4.0 or many other operating systems. You can convert FAT16 to FAT32 without losing your data, but you cannot convert FAT32 to FAT16 without reformatting and losing all your data. If the file system is FAT16, you must have 225MB of free hard-drive space for the installation. If the file system is FAT32, you need only 175MB of free hard-drive space.
The FAT options you have available and what they can do for you will be important as you plan for an installation or upgrade.
Planning a Workgroup Workgroups are peer-to-peer networks that offer share-level security and do not require a server. Domains are networks built around a server, and they offer user-level security. In order for you to have user level security, you must have a computer running an operating system that can maintain a database of users. Windows 98 can’t do this. Windows NT and Novell NetWare are operating systems that can. User level security is much tighter.
Setting up System Policies To limit what a user can do to the system when he/she logs on to a computer or network, you can use system policies. This actually makes changes to the policy files in the registry. To make changes to the System Policy you would use the System Policy Editor. Here you can also specify how you want them enforced. (User, Group, or Computer) The System Policy Editor edits the registry so it must not be available to users. It is located on the Windows 98 CD-ROM under: \TOOLS\RESKIT\NETADMIN\POLEDIT Add the SPE with the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. The System Policy Editor only needs to be installed on one machine on the network. It will add a shortcut on the Programs menu under Accessories, but it is a good idea to remove it. You can then access the SPE by choosing START/RUN, typing POLEDIT, and clicking O.K. The first time you run the SPE it will ask for a template. These templates give you a policy to start with. Two templates on the Win98 CD; WINDOWS.ADM and COMMON.ADM, have the default settings for Win98. (Nothing is locked down. The user has complete control of the machine.) They are located in the same directory as the SPE. There are also other policy files in the same location. (Windows 95 loaded admin.adm instead of windows.adm or common.adm. Once activated the SPE gives you these options: NEW POLICY You can edit the registry directly here, or edit the registry of another computer on the network. In order for the policy to become enforced you must save it as CONFIG.POL. If you are using share level security you must save the file in the machine’s Windows directory for it to be enforced. For user level security, where you need to save it will depend on what type of network your machine is on. Ensure user level security is enabled in the Control Panel Network
applet - Access Control tab.
The policy file will not download automatically if you are using VLM’s or NETX instead of the actual Client for NetWare Networks. When logging on to a computer when you have a profile, are a member of a group that has it’s own policy file, and the computer you’re logging on to has its own policy file; Win98 checks for user profiles first, then group policies, then computer name policies. When creating group policies, the group must already exist on the security provider. (Server) Also, the file GROUPPOL.DLL must be installed on each client. (Use Add/Remove programs/windows setup tab/have disk and choose grouppol.inf from the same directory as SPE. If some users are actually members of more than one group you can set a priority list in the Options menu under Group Priority. The System Policy Editor must have templates for the choices it presents to you. These templates are ASCII text files with .adm extensions. The two templates loaded into the System Policy Editor by default are common.adm and windows.adm; User profiles are stored in user.dat files and hold the configuration information for each user. If the ability to save settings is turned on, each user will have his or her own user.dat file. The user.dat file can be stored locally or on the server. If it is stored on the server, it is called a roaming profile. File and Printer Sharing File and Printer Sharing allows you to share resources with other users. (Peer to peer) File and Printer Sharing does not allow you to share individual files, but it does let you share folders. Install Client for Microsoft/NetWare Networks Implicit and Explicit Permissions A new feature in Windows 98 is the ability to have implicit and explicit permissions assigned to a folder. This feature does not exist in any other version of Windows (even NT). Implicit Permission - Inherited permissions from a folder higher in
the directory tree. You must have USER LEVEL security enabled for this feature. User-level security requires a Domain controller. After sharing a folder, if you change the parent folder’s permission you will be prompted to: Apply changes to inside folders Share-Level Access Control Full, Read Only, Depends on Password (Full or Read Only) Sharing Resources with other NetWare Clients Win98 can share files and printers with MS or NetWare Clients but not both at the same time. There are differences between MS and NetWare Clients. NetWare requires you to be in user level security to activate file and printer sharing. Windows NT allows you to be in share level security. The Automated Installation ("The Unattended Setup") Windows 98 has the ability to set itself up when provided with a script file. These script files contain information about what settings Windows should use and can be very detailed. Examples: Setup Options The script files are then saved with the extension .INF. One can be used by typing the name of the script file after the Windows 98 SETUP command. (setup bill.inf) Alternative ways of automating the Setup. Use a network Login script The program used to create scripts is the BATCH98 program (batch.exe). It is located in: TOOLS\RESKIT\BATCH The New Installation Preparing to run Setup If you start Setup from MS-DOS it will run ScanDisk first to check for problems. It will also copy a few files to your HDD and get a small version of Windows up and running. This is done because Setup is actually a Windows based program. The Upgrade Installation When you upgrade from Windows 3.x to Windows 98, you'll find that settings in protocol.ini, system.ini, and win.ini are used to create the Windows 98 Registry. (Just like in Windows 95 these files and any files with the .GRP extension are saved for backward compatibility.) When you migrate from Windows NT to Windows 98, you must reinstall all your applications, because the two operating systems' Registries are not compatible with each other. Uninstall Windows 98 Use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel to uninstall Windows 98. This will only work provided the following variables are in place: You chose to save your previous operating system files during setup. Dual-Boot Systems When installing Win98 on a computer with MS-DOS 5.0 or later, a dual boot is created automatically. Some files will be changed when you do this:
When booting to DOS after Win98 is installed, the following files are changed to:
On Win3.11 and computers you must install Win98 into a separate directory
to make it dual bootable. If already running WinNT and you want to install Win98, boot to DOS and then install Win98. This causes the machine to boot to a file called BOOTSECT.DOS and any changes Win98 needs to make to the boot sector will be made to this file. You cannot dual boot Win98 with OS2. Network Server Installation Windows 98 can use a server-based setup to be installed from a server. This will keep most or all of the files on a server, which your PC will connect to each time you reboot. Share server’s CD-ROM and run Setup from the client, or copy Win98 folder from the installation CD to the server and share the folder. Windows 95’s Netsetup.exe program is absent from Win98. Machine Directory - directory on server, which stores computer-specific configuration, and files (system.dat, user.dat, .ini files, etc.) for a PC. Is mandatory to use when the PC does not have a hard drive. Machine directory can be shared for multiple PC’s with the same configuration. Win98 Web Server A subset of Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS, which runs on Windows NT Server) is available for Windows 98, where it is known as Peer Web Server. \add-ons\pws\setup.exe Win98 Dial-Up Server Supports only one outbound modem at a time. After reboot you must go to Dial-up Networking to the Connections menu and choose Dial-up Server. Allow caller access and specify server type. Map Network Drive Browse for resource in Network Neighborhood OR Right click on My Computer or Network Neighborhood icon and specify path with UNC. (Universal Naming Convention) Security Hosts The following operating systems can act as security hosts for a network. Windows NTW 3.5 or later Novell NetWare as Security Host Must install user-level security and name the security host (NetWare server) in the Access Control tab of the Network applet in the Control Panel. Reboot and share a folder as you would in File and Print Sharing. You will obtain a list of users from the security host that you can use to specify which users have which rights. Browsing Microsoft Networks To keep network traffic down to a minimum, a "Browse List" is kept by a computer called the "Browse Master". Any computer running File and Print Sharing has the ability to be a Browse Master. There is one Browse Master per workgroup or Domain. Here is how it works: A computer comes online and sends out a broadcast searching for the
"Browse Master". Anytime you attempt to browse using Network Neighborhood, the computer
already knows who the browse master is and asks for an updated list. The election process: (Seniority is King) Windows NT Server (Primary Domain Controller) If two computers are the same the newer version of the OS wins. If these are the same also, then the one who has been online the longest wins. You can also give a computer an edge up in the election process if you have a preference as to who the Browse Master is. This is called the "Preferred Browse Master". To make a computer a preferred Browse Master edit the properties for File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks. You will see options for "Browse Master and LM Announce.
Backup Browsers contact the Browse Master every 15 minutes to alert the Browse Master that they are still online. Whenever a change is made to the Master Browse List the Browse Master notifies the Backup Browsers who in return request updated lists. When a computer is shut down properly on the network it notifies the Browse Master that it can be removed from the Browse List. If a computer is not shut down correctly and does not get removed form the Browse List, it may continue to show up for 15 minutes if it is a Backup Browser, or 45 minutes if just a regular computer on the network. Logon to Windows NT Domain Once Client for Microsoft Networks is installed in the Network Components box of the Network Applet in Control Panel, highlight it and click Properties. You will be prompted for the name of the NT domain and whether you want to do a quick logon or restore network connections every time you logon.
Sharing Resources with NetWare clients NT has permissions NetWare has rights
Browsing NetWare Networks To make other computers aware of its resources on a NetWare Network, a NetWare server uses Server Advertising Protocol. (SAP) All NetWare servers broadcast an SAP packet every 60 seconds. NetWare clients using NETX or VLM can only see computers that are SAP enabled. In order for a Win98 computer to be seen and browsed in Network Neighborhood it must have SAP enabled also. (UNC can be used to connect to a WIN98 computer without SAP enabled.) You can install SAP when setting up File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks. Remember you can only run one File and Printer Sharing client at a time. (NetWare or NT) Workgroup Advertising in the Novell client accomplishes the same as Browse Master does in Microsoft. Novell NetWare typically uses the IPX (AKA NWLink) protocol for network communications. Novell NetWare 4.11 has TCP/IP capabilities. Frame type describes the format used to encapsulate IPX packets, and must be the same on connecting systems. Novell NetWare by default does not support long file names. To enable long file names on your NetWare server, enable OS/2 name space. Client for NetWare is needed for connecting to Novell NetWare servers. Client for NetWare uses NCP (NetWare Core Protocol) as the redirector. ODI is Novell's version of NDIS. File and Print sharing for NetWare is needed when sharing files to other NetWare clients. This requires user-level security for pass-through authentication to a NetWare server. NetWare servers advertise their services using the Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) to make broadcasts over the network. Routers will maintain a database of available NetWare servers. NetWare commands: Connecting to NetWare Clients you can use to connect Win98 to a NetWare Server: NetWare servers communicate with NetWare Core Protocol (NCP). The above clients allow Win98 to communicate with computers using NCP. Microsoft Networks use Server Message Blocks (SMB) to communicate. NetWare 3.x servers use a bindery to store users and groups. The bindery is server-centric which means you cannot share this information between servers.(If you need a resource from two different servers you must have a user account on each.) NetWare 4.x uses NetWare Directory Services (NDS) instead of a bindery. It is not server-centric. Many applications are not NDS aware so NetWare 4.x can emulate a bindery. Main reason to use NetWare clients is the support for VLM and NETX functions. When choosing a protocol to install, stay with same vendor as client. When setting up which frame type to use, use the following standards:
Windows 98 can be set to choose the frame type it detects on the network
checking in this order: Asynchronous Transfer Mode Networks designed to run at very high speed must have connection established first. Then transfers data in dedicated bandwidth.
Installing PPTP/VPN In Network applet choose: Add Create Dial-up Networking connection to ISP if you don’t already have
one. Microsoft DLC (Data Link Control) Protocol for connecting to mainframes such as IBM AS/400s. Fast Infrared Protocol that supports wireless networks. Transfers up to 4Mbps. Universal Serial Bus The Universal Serial Bus (USB) provides plug-and-play compatibility for external devices such as keyboards and mice. You can add up to 127 devices with simultaneous connections and speeds from 1.5 to 12 Mbps. Developed by Compaq, Digital Equipment, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Northern Telecom. Features: Troubleshooting USB devices: IEEE 1394 Serial Bus (FireWire) IEEE 1394 FireWire is similar to USB, but is intended for devices that operate at higher speeds. It provides bus support of high-bandwidth external devices, such as video cameras and DVD’s. 100 Mbps Asynchronous and Isochronous Works like this: Backups Microsoft Backup Utility is used to create and restore backups. It does not work with QIC-40 tapes. The Backup Wizard can create and view backup jobs, but it can't change them. Incremental backups back up all the files added or changed since the last full backup, and then remove the archived bit. Differential backups back up all the files added or changed since the last full backup and do not remove the archived bit. Use the Task Scheduler to automate your backups. TCP/IP TCP/IP is an Internet protocol currently used for most networking situations. Each computer using TCP/IP will contain a unique address in a x.x.x.x format (where each x equals a number between 0 and 255) and a subnet mask. Subnet mask - A value that is used to distinguish the network ID portion of the IP address from the host ID. Default gateway - A TCP/IP address for the host, which you would send packets to be sent elsewhere on the network. Common TCP/IP problems are caused by incorrect subnet masks and default gateways. Broadcasts - a computer will broadcast the NetBIOS name it is searching for across the network. The machine with the matching NetBIOS name will send a reply to the broadcasting computer with its IP address. Win98 uses three methods to resolve NetBIOS names to IP addresses:
Enabling Remote Administration On the computer to be administered remotely: On NT network, the Domain Admins group will automatically be given
the right to administer remotely. Once enabled two folders are shared to the Network automatically: Admin$ - gives administration access to the hard disk. Install the Remote Registry Service from Network applet of the Control Panel. Add, Service, Add, Have Disk, Browse After this is done you can also use REGEDIT to remotely edit a computers registry. Net Watcher and System Monitor Net Watcher: System Monitor: Printing Image Color Matching - Allows applications to provide closer matches for colors between graphics displayed on the screen and the same graphics when they are printed. Each device's properties are stored in a profile. These profiles were designed by InterColor 3.0 (a number of vendors which included Kodak, Microsoft, Apple, Silicon graphics, etc.). Bi-directional printing - Allows two-way communications between the printer and computer. The printer is able to send status and diagnostic information to the computer and its operating system. What is needed for bi-directional printing? Unidrv.dll - Printer driver which is used to print to all non-postscript printers. Friendly Names - Allows printer to be named with a "normal" name which is up to 32 characters in length. EMF Spooling - Increases performance in the way the computer spools print jobs to the temporary file and allows the application to return to a usable state quicker. MS-DOS application printing support Windows 3.x and DOS-based files have been known to have printing problems in Windows 98. The problem is that the program will say that it has spooled the print job to the printer, but the printer never receives the job. The problem is being caused by the program's inability to understand the Windows 98 printing system. Windows 98 has included an MS-DOS printing compatibility feature to allow older programs to print to a virtual LPT port. Windows 98 will map an LPT port to the desired print queue, which the older program recognizes. Printer Icons Every printer has an icon, which refers to how it is used to print: Point-and-print - the method of using drag and drop to print a document. For example, you can create a shortcut to a printer on your desktop. Then, you can take an MS Word document and drag it to the printer icon. This will then print the document without the need to start the application. IEEE 1284compliant printers with the appropriate cable can provide unsolicited information to the user, reporting low toner, lack of paper, and so forth. Spool data format: Nibble Mode: User Profiles Application Data folder (address book, mail, news) Backups Full = All Disk Clean-up
Large Disk Support Large-disk support involves using FAT32, the absence of which implies the use of FAT16. By using the FAT32 Drive Converter (cvtl.exe), you can convert FAT16 to FAT32 without losing data. You cannot convert from FAT32 to FAT16 without formatting the drive and losing all data. Fat32 conversion in Real Mode CVT.EXE /CVT32 -Command line utility for fat32 conversion. You back up the Registry with the scanregw command and restore it with scanreg /restore. You can compress a disk with the DriveSpace3 utility and the Compression Agent (cmpagent. exe). Compression can be in either UltraPack or HiPack format. Partitioning is done with FDISK. Ultrapack- Best compression The Microsoft Family Logon allows users to select their name from a list of recognized users during logon, rather than having to type it in the old-fashioned way. Disk Defragmenter uses log files of application access to find out which programs are used most and which files they need to run, then places them contiguously to speed access. The Maintenance wizard schedules tasks to run automatically in unattended mode. The Task Scheduler submits for processing those jobs that the Maintenance wizard has chosen and all other unattended jobs. The queue can be viewed from Start|Program Files|Accessories|System Tools|Scheduled Tasks. The Update wizard is used to download patches and drivers. The System File Checker is used to look for corruption, deletion, or modification to the core files of the Windows 98 operating system. It uses a base file to compare what it finds with what it knows should be there. The System File Checker can be used to restore a file from the media or to update the base file. Detection Log Files Windows 98 has several log files generated to detect and troubleshoot problems. SETUPLOG.TXT- Used to log installation of Windows98. Will note last utility run prior to a system halt. DETCRASH.LOG- Used to log hardware detection during setup. Readable only by setup to determine which module was running when the system halted. DETLOG.TXT- Equivalent of DETCRASH.LOG written in a readable format. The ASCII logs created during installation (setuplog.txt and detlog.txt ) can give you the first clues to solving installation problems. The detcrash.log is a binary file created during installation for use in rebooting your system after a crash. The infamous Windows 98 Registry The Registry is designed as a database used by OLE to store information on OLE servers. It is used by Windows 98 to store the information typically found in Windows 3.x .INI files and the reg.dat file. The Registry can be used for troubleshooting and enhancing performance in Windows 98. The registry is a hierarchical tree, which contains information about many things in the computer. The following is a list of the Registry subtrees and what they contain: The Registry contains three properties: Name, Data Type, and Value. The Data Type can be a binary value (a collection of bits), a string value (a string of readable characters) or a DWORD value (a binary value limited to 4 bytes).
Version Conflict Manager automatically overwrites newer files with Windows 98 system files. The Microsoft System Information Utility is used to view system information and provide a launch pad for system tools.
Misc Intel Memory Protection Architecture: Virtual Machines: Windows 98 Core Components Windows 98 has three core components: Kernel, User and GDI. All three are .DLL files, which reside in the system as both 16-bit and 32-bit applications to maintain backward compatibility. Kernel - Responsible for basic O/S functionality, managing
virtual memory, task scheduling, and File I/O services. Plug and Play Plug and Play - designed for hardware installation to require no intervention from the user. A plug and play system needs to consist of the following to be complete:
Legacy Cards - Hardware designed prior to Plug and Play which, when installed, will not automatically be setup by the OS and must be setup manually. Bus Enumerator - Type of driver based on a specific bus architecture. Used to build the hardware tree in the registry. Plug and Play Docking Docking - The process which a computer uses to establish connection with a docking station. There are three types of docking: Disk operations IFS (Installable File System) - architecture which allows multiple
file systems to coexist on the same computer. Long File Names Win98 supports extended file names which can contain up to 255 characters, unlike DOS, which was limited to the 8.3 structure. In Win98, each long file name has a duplicate 8.3 for backward compatibility. Memory Conventional Memory - First 640k of RAM, used for DOS applications and TSR's. Upper Memory - 384k RAM located between 640k and 1MB. Used to load MS-DOS device drivers to help increase space available for DOS applications. High Memory Area - Region between 1mb and 1088k. Extended Memory - Region extending from 1088k to the end of the memory. Was created for DOS applications to be able to access RAM outside of the first 640k. Expanded Memory - Uses bank-switching to quickly page data in and out of memory. Virtual Address Spaces Each process is allocated a virtual address space for the process's threads to use. This virtual space appears to be 4g in size, with 2g to process for its storage, and 2g for operating system components. 0-4M MS-DOS Compatibility Arena The lower 4m are reserved for real-mode device drivers, TSRs and 16-bit applications. 4M-2G 32-Bit Windows Applications (Private Arena) This area is reserved for 32-bit Windows applications, which receive their own unique address space. 2G-3G DLLs and Shared Objects (Shared Arena) This area is used to share core system components, shared DLLs, and 16-bit Windows applications. 3G-4G Reserved System Area Ring 0 components are mapped into this area; this area is not accessible by Ring 3 components. Threads and Processes Thread - The basic entity to which the operating system allocates access to the CPU. Process - The code, data and resources which makeup and application. Each process contains at least one thread that executes the process code. Thread Priorities - Used to determine which thread will be allowed to run next. Each thread can have a priority number between 0 and 31 with 31 being the highest priority. The ranges of 0-31 are for NT compatibility. The priority values are divided into two sections: 0-15 for variable priority threads, and 16-31 for fixed priority threads. Thread Scheduling - there are three states a thread can be in: Primary Scheduler - Responsible for making sure the highest priority
thread is running. Multitasking Pre-emptive multitasking - The O/S divides time into slices (20ms for Win98) and proportions them evenly between running applications. Cooperative multitasking - Applications are required to give up control of the CPU and let other applications take their turn. Some applications tend to hog the CPU using this method. Multithreading - Used by the pre-emptive multitasking in Win98 to allow an application to have multiple paths of execution (threads). Video VGA fallback - ensures that an incompatible video driver will not prevent you from accessing the system. For this to work there must be a line in the [boot] section of the system.ini reading DisplayFallback=0. The color depth is measured in bpp (bits per pixel). The following is a chart relative to the relationship between bpp and color depth. Color Depth BPP 16 colors4
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