Windows Does Not Start Normally After Setup Fails

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

You may encounter one of the following symptoms with Windows 95:

• After you make a change to your Windows 95 environment your computer boots to a command prompt rather than into Windows.

  -or-

• Changes you make to entries in the Msdos.sys file may not seem to take effect.

CAUSE

There is a Winboot.ini file in the root folder of the boot drive which contains BootGUI=0 in the [Options] section.

If the Winboot.ini file exists, it is processed instead of the Msdos.sys file. The Winboot.ini file is created by Windows 95 Setup to ensure restartability or to display a warning when there is an operation that needs to be manually restarted. When the operation is complete, the Winboot.ini file is normally deleted, and the Io.sys configuration settings are read from Msdos.sys.

NOTE: The Winboot.ini file is a hidden file.

RESOLUTION

If your computer boots to a command prompt only and no error messages are displayed, you can safely delete the Winboot.ini file and restart your computer.

To delete the Winboot.ini file, follow these steps:

1. At an MS-DOS prompt, type the following command in the root directory

         deltree <drive>:\winboot.ini
   

   where <drive> is the drive where the Winboot.ini file is located.

2. Answer yes (y) when prompted to "Delete file 'winboot.ini'?"

3. Restart your computer.