Microsoft KB Archive/87290

{|
 * width="100%"|

What Is a Clean Boot for Windows 3.1?

 * }

Q87290

3.10 3.11

WINDOWS

kbtlc kbtshoot

-

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11

-

SUMMARY
A &quot;clean boot&quot; (starting your computer after all unnecessary commands have been removed from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files) is used as a basic troubleshooting step to test possible conflicts between Windows 3.1 and various terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs and device drivers. There are different types of clean boots; the correct one to use depends on whether or not Microsoft Windows has been installed.

More information about clean booting can be found on pages 99-100 of the &quot;Getting Started with Microsoft Windows&quot; version 3.1 manual and on pages 528-531 of the version 3.1 &quot;Microsoft Windows Users Guide.&quot;

NOTE: This article explains how to clean boot your system up to the point when you start Windows. To start Windows without loading any third-party programs, you must clear the StartUp group, clear the LOAD= and RUN= entries in the WIN.INI file, and ensure the SHELL= entry in the SYSTEM.INI file is loading PROGMAN.EXE. Also, make sure the SYSTEM.INI file does not include third-party virtual device drivers (VxDs) or other third-party Windows components.

Before Clean Booting
Create a bootable floppy disk that contains the MS-DOS system files and any other files that are required to make the system operational, such as disk-compression utilities (for example, Stacker), disk partitioning drivers (for example, Disk Manager), and other third-party device drivers.

To Clean Boot Before Running Windows 3.1 Setup
If there is no disk compression software, disk partitioning software, or other third-party drivers necessary to boot the computer, the machine can be booted on a floppy disk that contains only the MS-DOS system files, without a CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

If there is disk partitioning, disk compression, or other third-party software required to boot the computer, the startup files on the disk created above should appear as follows:

  CONFIG.SYS                              AUTOEXEC.BAT --

FILES=45                               PROMPT $P$G BUFFERS=20    AFTER Windows 3.1 is installed, a clean boot should appear as follows:

  CONFIG.SYS                              AUTOEXEC.BAT --                                FILES=45                                PROMPT $P$G BUFFERS=20                             PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS;C:\ DEVICE=C:\ \HIMEM.SYS              SET TEMP=C:\    STACKS=9,256 SHELL=C:\ \COMMAND.COM /E:1024 /P

Exceptions
The following are examples of drivers that SHOULD NOT be removed; they are used when the computer is turned on to make the hard drive accessible. This is not a complete list, but it does include most of the commonly used drivers:

  Hard Disk Drivers:          SQY55.SYS, SSTBIO.SYS, SSTDRIVE.SYS, AH1544.SYS, ILIM386.SYS, ASPI4DOS.SYS, SCSIHA.SYS, SCSIDSK.EXE, SKYDRVI.SYS, ATDOSXL.SYS, NONSTD.SYS

Disk Partitioners:         DMDRVR.BIN, SSTOR.SYS, HARDRIVE.SYS, EDVR.SYS, FIXT_DRV.SYS, LDRIVE.SYS, ENHDISK.SYS

Disk Compression Utilities: STACKER.COM, SSWAP.COM, SSTOR.EXE, DEVSWAP.COM If the purpose of a device driver or program is unknown, DO NOT remove it. Most device drivers and programs will display a message describing their purpose when they are initialized.

A clean boot DOES NOT include:


 * DOS=HIGH,UMB
 * EMM386.EXE
 * INSTALL=SHARE.EXE
 * INSTALL=FASTOPEN.EXE
 * Third-party memory managers
 * RAM disk devices
 * JOIN, GRAPHICS, PRINT, SUBST, APPEND
 * MODE for printer redirection
 * Multiple path statements
 * MS-DOS-level mouse drivers
 * Third-party disk caches
 * Various third-party TSRs
 * LOGIMENU, CLICK
 * Virus checkers
 * Drivers for scanners/fax
 * Drivers for CD ROM/network
 * Tape backup spoolers/redirectors/buffers
 * Data acquisition units
 * Keyboard accelerators/buffers

For information on clean booting Windows 3.0, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"clean and boot and windows and 3.0" Additional query words: tshoot clean-boot PRINT.COM RAMDRIVE.SYS JOIN.EXE PRINT.EXE MODE.COM GRAPHICS.COM SUBST.EXE 3.10 3.11 cleanboot

Keywords :

Issue type :

Technology : kbWin3xSearch kbWin310 kbWin311