Windows 9x Support Page - InfiniSource, Inc.

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An InfiniSource
Information and Support Site

All links and information presented on this page
pertain primarily to Windows 95/98

This page Last Updated: June 23, 2003

CONTENTS:

	Introduction (This Page)
	Windows 95 Upgrades (This Page)
	DUN 1.2 & 1.3 Upgrades (This Page)
	DUN 1.4 Upgrade (This Page)
	Internet Explorer Updates (This Page)
	Double your Download Speeds! (This Page)
	FTP Links for Upgrades (This Page)
	Uninstalling Tips (Page 2)
	OSR2 - Windows 95B (Page 2)
	TCP/IP & Windows 95 (Page 2)
	Windows 98/ME (Page 2)
	Search MS Knowledge Base (Page 2)
	Win95 Tips and Tricks
	Win98 Tips and Tricks
	Win95 Support Links (Page 3)
	Win95 Utilities (Page 4)

In early 1995 by Microsoft Corporation, the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the software industry, introduced Windows 95, the much heralded next generation of their Windows operating platform, succeeding Windows 3.11. Win95 is a true 32-bit operating system offering much faster and more reliable performance than the 16-bit Windows 3.11 along with true multi-tasking capabilities. Although Windows 3.11 is able to handle 32-bit file access with the help of a win32s upgrade, its memory and resources management are still relatively limited. Although 16-bit applications still perform well under the new operating system, 32-bit applications offer the best utilization of Win95's superior memory and resource management. Here's a good overview of Windows 95 and some of the many advantages over Windows 3.x

Before we get started, there are a lot of technical terms on this page. We've tried to explain it all in relatively basic terms. However, if you don't know what something means, for quick reference, try Tech Web's Tech Encyclopedia with over 11,000 definitions of computer terms and concepts. Enter your terms in the form located to the right in the blue sidebar.

If you are considering upgrading to Windows 95 but are not comfortable eliminating your Windows 3.1 or 3.11 platform, it is possible to set up a "dual boot" installation. With this setup, your computer will boot to a menu giving you the option to either go directly into Windows 95 or to go into the old MS-DOS operating environment from which you can boot up your old Windows 3.1. If you are interested in performing such an installation, get complete step-by-step instructions on our Dual Boot page.

With the size of some of the new programs you can load on your computer these days, it doesn't take long before you begin to see that harddrive that once seemed so huge, starting to get filled up. You want to keep at least 10-15% of your harddrive space free and available if at all possible. InfiniSource has a handy TechFile on how to squeeze more room out of your harddrive.

Please note: No one can keep up with the way Microsoft changes its links and file locations... it is a daunting task for any Webmaster. If any link on this page doesn't work please send us email about it. And try the Microsoft Software Library FTP site to look for the specific file by name. We have also made a list of the recommended updates below which have FTP download links at the MS Library. If you are running Windows 98, you can use the built-in Windows 98 update utility, or you can visit Microsoft's Critical Updates page. There is also a page called Guide to Software Downloads where you can find updates not only for Windows, but also for Office, Games, backOffice, etc. Note that Microsoft makes it very difficult to visit their upgrade pages with anything other than Internet Explorer 4.x or higher. And be sure to read below about how to uninstall most Win 95 upgrades.

CAUTION: Not every one has the need for all of the available updates. Some are more universally useful than others. You might want to only install those updates which seem to fix a problem you might be having. If you do decide you want to try them all, there is some logic to adding only one at a time to make sure your system and your dialup connection are still working normally. If you go right ahead and make all of them and then your connection no longer works, you will have a hard time try to undo what you did. Please don't do that and then write us. These are all Microsoft upgrades and there are a number of Microsoft support options listed below. If you are planning to install a number of these upgrades it is sometimes recommended to install them in a specific order. They are generally listed in that order below.

Before you get started you might want to try the little Microsoft utility "System Updates". If you have OSR 2 installed, this is a great place to check and see just what updates you do have on your computer. This is the Qfecheck.exe program in your Windows Directory. It should also be accessible from Start > Programs > Accessories > SystemTools. It comes as part of the OSR2 upgrade and installs into older versions with several of the different upgrades mentioned below. You can also download the QFECHKUP.EXE [97KB] file separately, direct from Microsoft. It should install in the Programs Menu under Accessories > Systems Tools. Otherwise you can locate Qfecheck.exe, double-click on the file, and a window called "Update Information Tool Properties" will come up listing all your installed updates and the dll's associated with each! Some of the updates below are called Shell Update which contains shell32.dll, Windows 95 password caching update which contains mswl32.dll and net.exe, win32 Kernel core component update which contains kernel32.dll, and the Windows TCP Driver Update which contains vtcp.386 and vnbt.386 files dated 7/97. If you don't have one, you may want to make a shortcut to this handy little utility.

If you don't know which version of Windows you have, you can either choose "Properties" from the right-click menu of the "My Computer" icon, or go to the System applet of the Control Panel. If the version number for Windows 95 reported is 4.00.950, you have the original version without the Service Pack 1 update....if it reads 4.00.950a then you already have that update. If the version number reported is 4.00.950 B (also sometimes reported by Windows as 4.00.950.1111 or 4.00.1111), you have the newer OSR2 operating system. If the version number reported is 4.00.950 C you have the newest OSR2.5 operating system, with integrated Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Setup, and updated online services clients. If you have Windows 98, it should read 4.10.1998.

If you have successfully installed Internet Explorer version 4.01 with Service Pack 1, most of the following Windows 95 service patches and upgrades may not be required.

If you are using the original version of Windows 95, you will probably want to also get the OLE Update for Windows 95, OLEUPD.EXE [506,952 bytes] 08/27/97, [alt FTP location] if you don't already have it. This is recommended if you use Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Microsoft Word for Windows or any 16bit applications. This file contains an update to OLE for Windows 95 to correct "certain file management problems." Note: The OLE32 Update in Microsoft Windows 95 Service Pack 1 includes Ole32.dll version 2.10.35.37 and fixes only the file management behavior problem described in the article above. Service Pack 1 does not fix the other problems described in this article.

Before you go any further, check to see if you have the Microsoft Windows 95 Service Pack 1 which includes a system update, system administration tools, additional components, and drivers for Windows 95. Check this by checking your version number as described above, or use "System Updates" (Qfecheck.exe) which identifies this upgrade as "Shell Update" containing shell32.dll. The page from Microsoft above will provide a link to download the self-installing .exe file, W95setup.exe [1,265 KB], the Service Pack 1 Update. If you have the newer OSR 2, do NOT install the Service Pack 1 Update.

There is a security update to both the original Windows 95 and OSR2 called Windows 95 Update to Encrypt Passwords in Memory. This fix basically protects your password while you are logged on to a network. It is available as SECUPD.EXE [484 KB] for the earlier version of Win95, and SECUPD2.EXE [496 KB] for OSR2.

If you install the Windows 95 Service Pack 1 update, you may also want to get Microsoft's Password List bug fix. If you find that Internet applications can no longer remember your password or you're having trouble with your Dial-up adapter, this patch sometimes helps. It worked for us! This is available as MSPWLUPD.EXE [375,930 bytes]. Of course, our choice for helping out your password-challenged Windows 95 is the Dunce, listed below under "Windows 95 Utilities."

Another worthwhile patch to go along with Windows 95 Service Pack 1 update is an updated version of the Kernel32.dll file, KERNEL32.DLL version 4.00.951 [411,136 bytes] and later, available as w95krnlupd.exe [337 KB]. For more information on this see Microsoft's page on the Kernel32 Update.

Then there is the Update to Windows 95 TCP/IP to Address Out-of-Band Issue. [Q168747] This file corrects a problem with out-of-band packets using the TCP/IP protocol. This is available as VTCPUPD.EXE [250 KB]. You do not need this file if you are installing DUN 1.2b and/or Winsock 2.

You might also want to grab the Windows TCP/IP Ping Command update, PINGUPD.EXE [289 KB], which is recommended for all versions of Windows 95.

On the 27th February '98, Microsoft released Windows Sockets 2 for Windows 95. also called Winsock 2. This is an update of the Windows Microsoft Sockets 2 version which was previously available as a Software Developers Kit (SDK) version only. This new release is available as W95ws2setup.exe [986 KB]. This release includes a new version of the TCP/IP stack and resolves several previous winsock issues. This winsock should supercede all previous winsock upgrades, however, Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, still has the other two versions available, as mentioned below, so we'll leave that information available here until we learn otherwise.

If you want to upgrade your winsock, you'll probably want to try this very latest version. We suggest you read the Winsock 2 release notes. This update will update quite a few files on your hard drive. Microsoft informs us that you can uninstall the new Winsock 2 and return to your previous version 1.1 by using the WS2BAKUP.BAT which is installed with Winsock 2 into \Windows\ws2bakup. The installation actually places all the files in that backup directory for restoring with this batch file if needed.

Another winsock upgrade for the earlier Windows 95, the Microsoft ISDN 1.1 Accelerator Pack, has been replaced by Microsoft's DUN 1.2 upgrade. But it is still available as a zipfile msisdn11.zip [306 KB] from filelibrary.com. This is only recommended for the early version of Win95, 4.00.950 and 950a. It seems to help a little, even though you are not using ISDN but using a standard PPP connection.

The standard wisdom for the ISDN upgrade seems to be to install it, then uninstall it using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. It did NOT appear there for me, however, and I had to use a commercial uninstaller to get rid of it. It caused me major "blue screen" faults until I did. It still left behind certain elements, including a more informative connection dialog box which minimizes to the system tray instead of the main taskbar. And many people suggest that it may make your connection a bit faster as well. Again, you do NOT want this upgrade if you have OSR2 or are using or installing the DUN 1.2b or Winsock 2 upgrades from Microsoft.

Microsoft Windows 95 Year 2000 Update

Microsoft released a Year 2000 (Y2K) update for the Windows 95 operating system. Previously there where only some small fixes available for the DATE & DIR commands (Command.com), but this update fixes many small problems.

Complete information can be found in the Readme file (If you have trouble getting it from Microsoft's site, we have a local copy here.

For installation instructions see Microsoft's site, or follow the instructions below.

System Requirements

When downloaded, run the w95y2k.exe, and follow the instructions on your screen.

It is also recommended to make a new Emergency Startup Disk to reflect the changes made to system files. To do so:

DUN 1.2 & 1.3 UPGRADES

In September 1997, Microsoft replaced the ISDN Accelerator Pack for Windows 95 with an upgrade for Dial-Up Networking..... DUN 1.2..... for all versions of Windows 95 including OSR2.

The DUN 1.2 (Dial-up Networking 1.2 Upgrade) is no longer available from Microsoft.

DUN 1.3

If you want to try the latest DUN 1.3, you can read, MSKB Article ID: 191494 and Article ID: 154091, the Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade Release Notes. And you can download DUN 1.3 from Microsoft right from here. It is always advisable to back up your system before installing major new system changes!

DUN 1.3 basically adds Windows 98 functionality to the Windows 95 Dial-Up Adapter and addresses certain security issues. There is no major DUN upgrade for Win98, only a security fix, as discussed below.

DUN 1.3 is relatively new, but from the feedback we've had so far, it seems that it's quite a safe upgrade. Some users of OSR2 have however reported problems. If you use OSR2, and want to install DUN 1.3, take the precaution of writing down all your TCP/IP settings. Also note that if you have trouble connecting after upgrading to DUN 1.3, you could try these steps:

If you want to install 1.3, it might be worth a look at Ben Jos Walbeehm's "CONTENTS OF WINDOWS 95 SYSTEM UPDATES". This great page lists all the files added or changed by the DUN 1.3 upgrade (and of all other MS upgrades as well!!! This may help, if you run into any problems.

Dial-Up Networking 1.4 Upgrade

Microsoft has released an updated version of Dial Up Networking (DUN) for Windows 95 & 98. For Windows 95, the DUN 1.4 upgrade provides additional features for the DUN components that were first introduced in Windows 95. The DUN 1.4 release includes all of the features of all previous DUN releases, as well as those that are included in the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) version 1.1 release. DUN 1.4 features include PPTP client support, 128-bit encryption, support for internal ISDN adapters, multilink support, and connection-time scripting to automate non-standard login connections. The DUN 1.4 upgrade can be applied to any version of Windows 95. New features in DUN 1.4:

For Windows 98, and Windows 98 Second Edition, this update fixes several security issues with implementations of the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) used in Microsoft Virtual Private Networking (VPN) products, and it also improves the stability of PPTP connections.

Note:

Windows 98 users: before you try to obtain or install the DUN 1.4 upgrade, verify which version of Windows is running on your computer. To do so, right-click My Computer. If you are running Windows 98 Second Edition, it will be displayed as below.

There is also a Security Upgrade for Windows 98 DUN, called DUN 1.4. This upgrade offers little in the way of new features or improved functionality, but addresses certain security issues which may be important in some cases. This is discussed in detail in MSKB Article ID: 191540 and Article ID: 189771.

Note

Although this update is still available, we suggest to use the new Dial-Up Networking 1.4 Upgrade (listed above) instead.

Internet Explorer 4 Updates

Both browsers are fairly similar, but Internet Explorer 5.5 has some extra features, some people like and others don't. It's more of a personal choice which browser you prefer.

Internet Explorer 5 Updates

If you have installed Internet Explorer 5.x, you need to make sure you have the most recent build of your browser version. Currently there are 2 versions of Internet Explorer 5, namely 5.01 and 5.5.

The latest version of Internet Explorer 5.01 is currently Service Pack 2. For more information of things that are fixed in SP2, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 261268.

The latest version of Internet Explorer 5.5 is currently Service Pack 1. Check Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 276370 for a list of Issus that are fixed in IE 5.5 SP1.

Microsoft have this Knowledge Base Article, which will help you determine which version of Internet Explorer is installed on your system.

TweakMASTER - The Supreme Internet Optimizer

While DUN 1.4 is a potential improvement for Windows 95, TweakMASTER, our superb Internet Optimizer, still offers additional flexibility to help you fine-tune your system and optimize your Internet connection. TweakMASTER supports DUN 1.3 & 1.4. In addition to setting MTU to specific values beyond the "small, medium and large" settings offered by DUN 1.3, TweakMASTER allows you to set other important variables such as RWIN and TTL, which are not included in the Windows 98 or DUN 1.3/1.4 interface, and many of our users have reported their best results ONLY after setting these additional variables.

TweakMASTER can substantially improve download speeds for all types of connections from dialup to DSL, Cable, and Wireless. Even AOL users have reported amazement at how much more responsive their system became! More than merely adjusting registry settings, TweakMASTER also includes an innovative DNS Accelerator to help websites load faster, a handy PC clock synchronization utility and AOL Disconnect Prevention. Using the simple Wizard, even total computer novices can instantly improve their download speeds. Advanced users will appreciate the wide range of options and advanced features, making this the most configurable and effective Internet Optimizer available today. TweakMASTER can easily double your download speeds and make "Surfing the Internet" a far more enjoyable experience.

MS System Updates FTP Links

Please do not send Windows support questions by e-mail, they will go unanswered! We get many mails asking the same things, so that's one of the reasons we've set up a Support BBS. Read through the posts, and if you don't find an answer to your problem, post a message. This will benefit everyone in a similar situation (and while you are there, why not answer some of the questions you know the answer to!).

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Nowadays many skill tests are being conducted by companies like Microsoft and Cisco. Among these tests 70-447 is a certification to test the skill of persons who want to upgrade MCDBA skills to MCITP. Similarly for network solution managers, 70-282 exams are conducted by Microsoft. 70-431 exams are also conducted by Microsoft for SQL server 2005 maintenance and planning knowledge. As compared to it Cisco conducts 646-589 for knowing the skills of persons on Cisco advanced wireless service. SAT is also a type of exam to measure the thinking skills.

An InfiniSource Information and Support Site

CONTENTS:

WINDOWS 95 UPGRADES

Microsoft Windows 95 Year 2000 Update

System Requirements

DUN 1.2 & 1.3 UPGRADES

DUN 1.3

Note

Dial-Up Networking 1.4 Upgrade

Note:

Note

Internet Explorer 4 Updates

Internet Explorer 5 Updates

TweakMASTER - The Supreme Internet Optimizer

MS System Updates FTP Links

An InfiniSource
Information and Support Site