Windows

Unit 6 (Chapter 3):

6.1 Windows 3.x and Windows 9x/Me:

6.2 Windows 3.x and Windows 9x/Me:

Windows 3.x was not a true OS. It was a graphical shell that required DOS to interact with the hardware. Windows 9x/Me is really two products: a DOS protected-mode interface (DPMI) and a protected-mode GUI.

Later versions of Windows 95 and all versions of Windows 98, Me support the FAT32 file format, enabling partitions up to 2 terabytes in size. Before FAT32, the old FAT16 format had a maximum partition size of only 2.1 GB.

Windows 9x/Me systems allow filenames up to 255 characters while maintaining backward compatibility with the older 8.3 format. Windows extended the old 8-bit ASCII character set and adopted a 16-bit Unicode character set.

MSDOS.SYS is no longer part of the OS kernel in DPMI. It is now just a text file that replaces many of the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS functions that the system still needs before the GUI kicks in. MSDOS.SYS has hidden, system, and read-only attributes by default. MSDOS.SYS is organized just like an INI file with groups and options under each setting.

Windows 3.x used text files with the extension .INI to initialize just about everything from device drivers to applications to Windows itself. Although Windows 9x/Me and Windows 2000/XP rely much less on INI files.

All INI files are broken up into logical sections called groups. Each group starts with a word or words in square brackets, called a group header, followed by the settings for that group. The syntax is item=settings.

SYSTEM.INI was the CONFIG.SYS of Windows 3.x, where all the resources were initialized and some global settings that defined how resources were to be used.

WIN.INI was the AUTOEXEC.BAT of Windows 3.x. It defined all the personalizations of Windows, and how resources interacted with applications. WIN.INI was also the dumping ground for settings that did not have a home anywhere else. It was often edited manually.

Windows 9x/Me does everything CONFIG.SYS does. Assuming Windows 9x/Me drivers are available, you do not need CONFIG.SYS.

6.3 Configuration files of Windows 3.x and DOS:

Windows 3.x was not a true OS and it required DOS to interact with the hardware. So it had the same configuration files with DOS:

AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, BOOT.INI, SYSTEM.INI

6.4 Configuration files of Windows 9x/Me and DOS:

DOS Windows 9x/Me

CONFIG.SYS SYSTEM.INI

AUTOEXEC.BAT WIN.INI

6.5

When the GUI is running, the main functions of Windows 9x/Me are handled by the kernel, user, and graphical device interface (GDI) modules. These files - KRNL386.EXE, USER.EXE, and GDI.EXE, reside in the folder C:WindowsSystem.

6.6 Windows NT/2000/XP:

6.7 Compare 9x and 2000/XP:

In Windows 9x, a clear distinction exists between the boot files and the GUI files. This can be easily shown by the many ways that you can skip the GUI completely, such as the Command Prompt Only option in the Startup Options menu. While within 2000/NP, a command prompt can be accessed, the Windows 9x separation of GUI from the command prompt is not valid in 2000/XP.

In Windows 9x/Me machines, the boot files must be installed onto the C: partition, but the GUI files can be installed onto any other drive letter. Windows 2000/XP also separate the boot from the GUI files.

Windows 2000/XP offer a highly structured environment designed to enhance file and folder security on shared workstations. Documents and Settings folders contain all the user accounts on a system, assigning them default data and program folders. Combined with NTFS, this user organization allows all to access shared folders and programs, but one user cannot access the My Documents of another user.

6.8 Compare NT and 2000:

Windows 2000 shares the same core structure, files, and features as Windows NT, but offers greater ease of use and support for hardware.

NT is the only Microsoft OS to support symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), providing support for systems with up to 32 CPUs. Windows 2000 goes beyond SMP by adding the power of clustering, enabling multiple systems to share redundant data for ultimate protection.

Core limitations meant that Windows NT could not incorporate features such as seamless Internet integration, true Plug and Play (PnP), and high-end server support. Windows 2000 has much of the features and power of Windows NT, but adds many ease-of-use and tech-friendly elements from Windows 9x, plus some new features like the Microsoft Management Console.

Windows 2000 offers a highly structured environment designed to enhance file and folder security on shared workstations. Documents and Settings folders contain all the user accounts on a system, assigning them default data and program folders. Combined with NTFS, this user organization allows all to access shared folders and programs, but one user cannot access the My Documents of another user.

Although later service packs of Windows NT provided rudimentary PnP support, Windows 2000 has complete PnP support. Device Manager and the Add New Hardware Wizard make device installation easy.

Windows 2000 comes with a new type of NTFS called NTFS 5.0, which adds four improvements over Windows NT's NTFS v. 4.0: encryption, mount points, disk quotas, and dynamic disks.

6.9 Compare XP with NT/2000:

Windows XP diverges a lot from Windows NT/2000 on user accounts. XP Professional offers all the accounts listed, but it then adds four other specialized types, such as Help Services Group and Remote Desktop Users. Windows XP Home, and XP Professional installed as a standalone PC or connected to a workgroup but not a domain, have only three account types: Computer Administrator, Limited User, and Guest.

Windows 2000/XP has NTFS 5.0 which adds four improvements over Windows NT's NTFS 4.0: encryption, mount points, disk quotas, and dynamic disks.

Windows XP's Files and Settings Transfer Wizard runs from the XP CD-ROM. The Wizard prepares the old drive to transfer its settings. Then you install Windows XP on the new hardware, connect the old hard drive to the new one, run the Files and Settings