[TRLog] TRLog & Windows98

[Gary J. Ferdinand W2CS]

With Windows-98, and I believe Windows-95 as well, there is a FAR EASIER WAY to boot
directly to a DOS prompt than using either of the methods I've seen documented here.
[What I'm about to describe is also documented under Win98 (probably also 95) by
clicking on START..HELP, search for "ms-dos," select "to start your computer without
starting Windows."  Follow the instructions.]

It takes two keystrokes at boot-up, one of them timing dependent.

Restart your computer, either a restart or a full power-on.  It doesn't matter
whether the computer was off or whether you do a START..SHUTDOWN followed by a Power
off or Restart.  Just get the computer rebooting.

While it's booting wait for the beep and then *immediately* HIT and HOLD the CTRL
key.  On some computers the same thing works if you HIT and HOLD F8.

You will then immediately be confronted with an DOS-like screen of options. Select
option 5, "Command Prompt Only."  The system will do its thing with AUTOEXECs and the
like and leave you in full-screen DOS mode without doing the additional processing to
bring up Windows.  For the duration of this boot-up you're stuck with DOS, which I
presume is what several posters here want!

So, for two key presses (CTRL and 5) you've got a DOS bootup.  It's fast and involves
absolutely no system changes.

The next time you reboot, unless you do it again, you will boot up Windows normally.
There's nothing to un-do to go back to a normal Windows system, other than reboot.

73,

Gary W2CS
Apex, NC




> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-trlog@contesting.com [mailto:owner-trlog@contesting.com]On
> Behalf Of Francis Flynn
> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 8:57 PM
> To: Bob Wolbert, K6XX; TR Log
> Subject: Re: [TRLog] TRLog & Windows98
>
>
>
> Even with windows 98, you can have your machine boot to good old familiar DOS
> prompt.
>
> Edit the msdos.sys file, which in windows 95 or 98 isn't really a sys file like
> it was back in
> DOS 6.22 and before days, it's really an ascii text file.
>
> To edit this you first have to change the file's attributes by using the attrib
> command like this:
>
> attrib c:\msdos.sys -r -a -s -h
>
> This unsets all four of the attributes, then bring it up into any kind of text
> editor you like,
> msdos edit works ok and change the line  "BootGUI=1" to "BootGUI=0"
>
> (that's zero not 'oh')
>
> Then put TR in your autoexec.bat.  If you don't have, create one with the same
> text editor.
> (Windows95 and up doesn't need an  autoexec.bat or config.sys, but will work
> with one if it's there)
>
> If you want to run windows, quit TR and type 'win' at the prompt.
>
> You don't have to, but you can set the attributes back again  (attrib msdos.sys
> +r +a +s +h)
>
> This is what I do on my laptop with Win98 installed, it's good if you have to
> reboot TR
> for any reason.  You don't have to sit and wait while all the GUI junk loads up.
>
>
>
> -Fran KM1Z
>
>
>
>
>
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