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MSDOS.SYS Tips & Tricks
(Windows 95/98)
Removing
the Attributes on MSDOS.SYS (read
this first)
Boot To DOS
Remove the Flying Windows Logo
Boot Quicker
(Read
this first)
Removing the Attributes on MSDOS.SYS
Warning: If DOS is your computer's Operating System, Do Not
remove the attributes or change the contents of the MSDOS.SYS
file.
Although MSDOS.SYS is a required start-up file in Windows 9x,
it is no longer a binary file as it was in DOS. It's actually
a simple text file that contains start-up information for the
Operating System. It tells the computer where to find the Registry,
and defines the location of the boot drive, different start-up
files, and the location of the Windows directory. But, it also
has an [Options] section that allows you to manipulate some
of the start-up processes.
Windows 9x sets the System, Hidden and Read-only
attributes on MSDOS.SYS. Because it is a system file, it's important
to back it up before you fool with it.
If you haven't already done so, you'll have
to change the View in Windows Explorer to allow you to see hidden
files. Click START/PROGRAMS/WINDOWS EXPLORER.
On the menu bar at the top of the window, click 'View' and choose
'Folder Options'. You'll see 3 tabs at the top, choose 'View'.
Make sure the radio button that says "show all files"
is selected. Click OK.
In the left pane of Windows Explorer, highlight
the C: drive. You should now be able to scroll down in the right
pane and find MSDOS.SYS. Copy it to a safe place before making
any changes.
Now you'll have to change the attributes before
you can do anything with the file. Right-click on MSDOS.SYS
in Windows Explorer and choose 'Properties'. Uncheck all the
boxes for the files attributes and click OK. Now you can perform
any of the changes below.
**Remember to
change the attributes back when you're done!**
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Boot
To DOS
Sometimes you may want a computer to boot to a DOS prompt instead
of into Windows, especially when trying to troubleshoot a boot
problem. This can be done by making a simple change to the MSDOS.SYS
file in the root directory of your hard drive. Remove the 'hidden'
and 'read-only attributes on MSDOS.SYS. Open it in NotePad and
change the line BootGUI=1, to read BootGUI=0. Change the attributes
back. Now your computer will boot to the DOS Prompt.
Maybe you want to do this from the DOS Prompt:
Make sure you're in the root directory of your C drive. Type
: attrib -h -r msdos.sys at the DOS Prompt, then press ENTER.
Now type: edit msdos.sys and press ENTER again. In the Editor,
change BootGUI=1, to read BootGUI=0. Save and exit. Change the
file's attributes back (attrib +h +r msdos.sys), and reboot.
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Remove
the Flying Windows Logo
If you don't want to see the Flying Windows Logo every time
you start Windows, you can turn it off in MSDOS.SYS. In the
[options] section, change the line Logo=1 to Logo=0.
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Boot
Quicker
After displaying "Starting Windows…" on your monitor screen,
by default, Windows pauses 2 seconds to allow you time to push
F8 if you want to go to the Boot Menu Screen. You can change
it so it doesn't pause at this point. Simply open MSDOS.SYS
and change the BootDelay line to BootDelay=0. The number you
put in the BootDelay= line is the number of seconds Windows
will pause. This means that you're going to have to be pretty
fast at hitting F8 if you want to boot to the StartUp menu in
Win95. In Windows 98, you just have to hold down the CTRL key
as the computer boots.
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