How to Control Boot-up and Shut Down in Windows 95

Windows 95 behavior during boot-up and shut down can be controlled in several different ways. Pressing F8 when the Starting Windows 95 message displays, and choosing Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode? from the Shut Down Windows dialog are two such ways. This document reviews other methods of customizing this behavior.

Booting and Exiting to a DOS Prompt

There may be circumstances in which you wish to use DOS without any part of Windows 95 loaded in memory. If these circumstances arise frequently, and you wish to make Windows 95 boot and exit to a DOS prompt, perform the following steps.

1. From a DOS prompt, type the following and press Enter on the keyboard:

   attrib c:\msdos.sys -r -s -h

2. Type the following and press Enter:

   edit c:\msdos.sys

3. Edit displays the MSDOS.SYS file. The first part of it should include the following (an ellipses indicates lines that have been skipped):

   [Paths]
   ...
   [Options]
   BootGUI=1

4. Move the cursor down to the line that reads BootGUI=1, then change the 1 to a 0 (zero).

   Save and exit the file by pressing the following keys in sequence: Alt, F, X, Y.

5. Type the following and press Enter:

   c:\;cd\windows

   Then type:

   ren logo*.sys logo*.bmp

   and press Enter.

6. Restart your computer. Windows 95 now boots directly to a DOS prompt without loading Windows 95ís GUI (Graphical User Interface). Type win and press Enter to load the Windows 95 GUI. When Windows 95 is shut down, it will exit directly to a DOS prompt, with no part of Windows resident in memory.

MS-DOS Mode

Upon shutting down Windows 95, a dialog appears displaying three options (four if Windows 95 is configured to use a network). One of these options is Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode? MS-DOS mode is designed to allow DOS programs, which access the hardware in ways that Windows 95 does not allow, to operate while Windows 95 remains running. For example, some DOS programs that use SVGA graphics may require the use of MS-DOS mode.

When this option is selected, Windows 95 removes itself and many of its protected mode drivers from memory, runs another instance of COMMAND.COM (the DOS command interpreter), and leaves a part of itself in memory to allow you to return to Windows 95.

In addition, Windows 95 may at this point load into memory certain DOS drivers, such as MSCDEX.EXE and MOUSE.EXE. This occurs if, at the time you upgraded to Windows 95, your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contained statements for Mscdex and/or mouse drivers. The last thing that Windows does upon entering MS-DOS mode is run the batch file DOSSTART.BAT in the Windows directory. If you wish to change the drivers or programs that Windows 95 loads into memory when you enter MS-DOS mode, edit this file. This is most useful if the Mscdex or mouse drivers were not already in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file when you installed Windows 95, and you wish to use your mouse or CD-ROM drive with DOS programs running in MS-DOS mode.

If your Windows directory does not contain a DOSSTART.BAT file, you can create one using Notepad.

Customizing the Windows 95 Startup Logo

When Windows 95 starts, the Windows 95 logo displays for a few moments while Windows 95 is loading. This screen can be disabled or customized if desired.

There are two ways to disable the Windows 95 logo.

• Press the Esc key when the logo appears. At this point, the normal DOS text messages that display as drivers and programs are loaded into memory. The Windows 95 logo re-appears the next time the computer is started.

• To permanently disable the logo, edit MSDOS.SYS as instructed in the first section of this document, "Booting and Exiting to a DOS Prompt". Below the line that reads [Options], add the following line:

Logo=0

The logo no longer displays when Windows 95 starts. (Logo=1 causes the logo to always display when Windows 95 starts.)

To replace the Windows 95 logo with a different logo, do the following:

1. In Windows 95, click Start, click Programs, click Accessories, then click Paint.
2. In Paint, click the Image menu, then click Attributes.
3. The Attributes dialog displays. In the Units box click Pels.
4. Change the Width value to 320 and the Height value to 400. Click OK.
5. Create an image in Paint. Note that when this bitmap is displayed during startup, it is stretched to a resolution of 640 by 400 pixels. Therefore, circles appear as ovals, squares as rectangles, etc.
6. When finished, click the File menu, then click Save As.
7. In the Save As dialog, click the Save as type: drop-down list box and select 256 Color Bitmap. Type the name C:\Logo.sys in the File name: text box. Click Save.

The next time the computer is restarted, the new logo appears in place of the Windows 95 logo.

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