Jump-start Windows 95



Tip
Every time you start your computer, Windows 95 forces you to wait -- and not just for drivers and other software to load. In fact, Windows is waiting for you. Each time the "Starting Windows 95" message appears on your screen, Windows waits a few seconds to see if you're going to press a key to designate a different boot option. For example, you could press <F8> to display the Startup menu. But if you're sure you'll never need any other boot options, or if you're just plain fast with your fingers, you can shave some seconds off your wait time. Here's how.
In Windows Explorer, choose View--Options. With the View tab in front, make sure Show all files is selected and click OK. Next, go to the root directory of your start-up drive and find the file msdos.sys. Right-click the filename and choose Properties from the menu. Uncheck Read-only and Hidden and click OK. Right-click msdos.sys again and choose Open With (if you don't see this option, press <Shift> as you right-click). Select Notepad from the list and click OK. Under the [Options] heading, add the line BootDelay=0. Save the file.
The next time you start Windows, things should go a wee bit faster. If you need to strike a key during start-up, you can always repeat the above steps and change the 0 to a higher value. The numbers represent seconds; the default is 2.
- Scott Dunn

Category: Win95
Issue: Oct 1997
Pages: 162-165

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