Tip 1. GENERAL Using my Win95 Memory Tips you will get more free conventional DOS memory whether you boot your Win95 to a plain old DOS prompt, in the Win95 "MSDOS Mode." and even in a Win95 "DOS box." I usually get 620KB free conventional memory in these first two modes and only about 604KB free in a Win95 "DOS box." This becomes significant when trying to run DOS games that may need every byte you can get over 600KB of free conventional DOS memory. Some users report that some DOS programs that initially have problems being run from a DOS box work better if in the app's properties you Check "Protected" on the "Memory" tab.
Tip 2: CDROM or Mouse Your mouse or CDROM will not work in DOS in Windows 95
Solution: You have to load your DOS, real mode Mouse and CDROM drivers in your startup files just like you did with old DOS.
Tip 3: PRINT.EXE Normally installed, Windows 95 does NOT have the old DOS level printing program PRINT.EXE
Solution: Download file DOS622.ZIP which contains the MSDOS 6.22 versions of Print, Backup and Restore.exe or on your Win95 CDROM see subdirectory \OTHER\OLDMSDOS\. It has the file (MSDOS 6.22 version) in it. Copy it to your C:\WINDOWS directory and then run:
"SETVER PRINT.EXE 6.22" and reboot.
Note: You can also find MSD, MEMMAKER, MSBACKUP, and many other "old DOS" (6.22) files on the CDROM here. MSD still works great to detect COM ports, etc.-copy it to your \WINDOWS directory too!
Tip 4: BACKUP and RESTORE.EXE Normally installed, Windows 95 does NOT have the old DOS BACKUP.EXE or RESTORE.EXE programs.
Note: These older programs do NOT work to backup/restore Win95 long filenames nor does MSBACKUP!
Solution: Download file DOS622.ZIP which contains the MSDOS 6.22 versions of Print, Backup and Restore.exe. With both you'll need to run SETVER as noted above. Usually, with older DOS program files, the "timestamp" on the file (Use DIR to see it) is the version number to use with SETVER. Example: A file with a "time" of "5:00a" means it's the DOS 5.00 version-and that's the number you use for SETVER. Example: SETVER backup.exe 5.00.
Tip 5: SHARE and APPEND.EXE The latest version of Windows 95 a.k.a. "OSR2" or "Win95B" does not have a DOS or "MSDOS Mode" level SHARE.EXE or APPEND.EXE
Solution: None-Neither SHARE nor APPEND.EXE are compatible with FAT32! The "normal" older Win95 SHARE.EXE WILL NOT WORK either! See the OSR2 FAQ Pages for all the gory details!
I'm working on more info for this page....check back frequently!!