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Windows 95 includes a wizard that can help you find Install programs, especially for Windows 95 applications. Launch the Add/Remove Programs applet from the Start menu under Settings/Control Panel. Install/Uninstall is the default tab. Click on the Install button. Windows 95 will search your floppy disks, then your CD-ROM, looking for an Install program. If it doesn't find one, it will ask you to browse for it.
Create a bootable "rescue" floppy disk to save the day if new applications render your system unbootable. Place a blank diskette in the A: drive. Launch the Add/Remove Programs applet from the Start menu under Settings/Control Panel. Click on the Startup Disk tab then on Create Disk. When Windows 95 is done, make the disk read-only, label it and test it to be sure you can boot your computer from it.
You can recover from an errant Windows 95 installation more easily if you have made copies of SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT in your Windows directory. Place the backups in a separate directory or on a bootable recovery disk. While these files are less important than in Windows 3.1, it is a good idea to have backup copies of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in your root directory, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI and all the .GRP files in your Windows directory.
Since early versions (x.0 revisions of software) tend to be buggy, make a copy of important data and template files before you upgrade and place them somewhere safe. Play it safe by installing the upgrade into its own directory, leaving the old version alone.
You are entitled to create a backup copy of the entire set of installation disks for any software you purchase—that's not piracy, it's common sense. Should you need to reinstall the software later, you've got an extra set of disks. With many new systems, the software is preinstalled in compressed format on your hard disk. Run the decompression application and create a box of diskettes for your applications.
Shrink-wrapped, commercially available software is rarely infected with viruses when it is shipped, but it has happened. Use an anti-virus program to disinfect installation disks before you set up any application.
Improve performance by using the DOS or Windows 95 defrag command (or a good third-party package) to defragment your hard disk before you install any new software. DOS simply loads a new program into the first empty spot on the disk—regardless of whether even so much as a single file will fit in its entirety--which slows things down.
Always close down currently active applications before you launch an installation program. The program will run faster, and you're less likely to have a problem with shared files. If you forget to do this before starting your setup, don't panic—just press Alt+Tab in Windows and close each application in turn.
Many applications ask you to restart Windows so the changes they made can take effect. Even if you're not asked to do so, restart anyway. Exit to DOS, turn off the power to your computer and reboot. That way, if the newly installed application has made your system unbootable, you'll know right away and can easily finger the culprit.
Sometimes, installing new software renders Windows inoperable or even prevents you from booting from the hard disk. For worst-case scenarios, prepare yourself. Create a bootable "rescue" disk by formatting a floppy as a system diskette (FORMAT A: /S). Copy CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to the floppy. Then copy all the files called by CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to the floppy (particularly anything appearing in DEVICE= lines). Edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on the floppy, deleting the paths to the drivers, leaving only the filename. When the files are called, they'll be in the root directory of the floppy. Copy EDIT.COM and QBASIC.EXE from your DOS directory onto this disk too, so you can edit files. Test the disk, write protect it and set it aside.
If your system freezes during or after installation of a new application or piece of hardware, you can restore your old configuration easily if you made copies of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in your root directory, plus WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI and all the .GRP and .INI files in your Windows directory. In addition to a bootable disk, keep a subdirectory on your C: drive where you can stuff copies of these files before you start an installation.
To avoid problems with your directory structure, install your programs in subdirectories beneath an APPS or PROGRAMS directory. When prompted for the directory into which you wish to install, insert \APPS or \PROGRAMS immediately after the colon. If the default is to install in C:\FOO, change it to C:\PROGRAMS\FOO. This should help you avoid the MS-DOS limit of 512 entries (files or directories) in the root directory. Subdirectories can have as many entries as needed, although things begin to slow down if there are more than 150 entries in a subdirectory, so watch it.
If your system won't boot up after you've installed new software, insert your emergency bootable diskette. Compare the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on your diskette with the new ones on your hard disk. If you have MS-DOS 6.0 or later, you can "step" through these files a line at a time to see where the changes are. Once you've rebooted, press F8 when the words "Starting MS-DOS" appear on your screen. DOS will send confirmations to the screen after it executes each line. When you reach the point where the system hangs, you've found the problem.
If you get only as far as the Windows splash panel when you restart after installing new software, dust off those copies of WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI you made.Go to your WINDOWS directory and rename the current WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files. Copy the backup versions of those two files into your Windows directory. Once you have Windows running again, use your word processor to compare the two versions to see what was changed. If you have to call tech support, you know what caused the problem.
Do yourself a favor: Buy an uninstall program and it will be much easier to ditch a program you loathe. In the old DOS days, all that was involved in purging a program was to erase its directory. Windows programs, however, scatter directories, files and .INI-file entries like dandelion seeds all over your hard disk.
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