Easy Desk Software

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INTRODUCTION

Please print and read this file before installing WinSafe98.

If you have any questions or need any assistance please contact us via E-mail or telephone. We will respond to E-mail the same day.

Proper installation of WinSafe98 is essential to insure the restorability of your system in case of a crash.

WinSafe98 does not attach itself to your system by altering the Registry or other system files as other programs do. Instead, it stands alone in order to be able to independently restore your system. Should your system subsequently crash your WinSafe98 installation and setup time will have been well spent.

You will find installation instructions in this file. If you have your Windows directory on a drive other than the C: drive or If your C: drive is compressed Read SPECIAL NOTES at the bottom of this page.

The setup program must be used to install WinSafe98. Follow these instructions carefully! WinSafe98 will not work properly unless you follow the steps in the Setup Program.

The setup program will give you on screen instructions. Due to differences in hardware and software, WinSafe98 must be programmed to your individual computer. WinSafe98 finds and backs up all Hidden, Read Only and System files. Most other programs overlook these files and so are unable to restore a crashed system.

If you reinstall WinSafe98, you do not need to uninstall the existing WinSafe98. Once you have reinstalled Windows 95/98 click on the Backup Current Files button, then reboot, and then select from the Menu Bar Item Restore and select the Menu Item Save Old Configuration, then Backup Current Files one more time. Be sure all Windows programs are closed.

If you already have WinSafe98 installed, use the setup program. The setup program will automatically detect the version on your system and make the nessecary adjustments to allow to to udate with out uninstalling your current version.

Please note that once WinSafe98 is installed you should never have to reinstall it unless you delete the WinSafe98.ini file, even if you reinstall Windows 95/98. Just be sure to update the files in the Safe folder. Use the Save Old Configuration. See the Help Manual for Save Old Configuration instructions.

Follow the on screen instructions. Once the WinSafe98 interface starts you can access the Help file to assist you with the installation. The help file is located under the Menu Bar Item Help on the WinSafe98 interface.

You will need to have your Microsoft Windows CD (not the manufacturers CD) available to install some optional files. If you do not have the Windows 95/98 CD then WinSafe98 can install these files at another time. These files are available on our Web Site. To install these files later, simply click on the MSD button and the System Info button

HOW TO INSTALL:

  1. Copy or unzip all files to an empty directory (folder). (e.g. C:/unzipped/WS95). You may not use a directory (folder) named C:\Winsafe
  2. Disable all Virus checkers (McAffee etc.) and Utilities (Norton, etc.) before installing WinSafe98. These programs can usually be found in the Tray on the Taskbar and are represented by little icons. A left or right click or two on each icon will pop up a little Option box with an exit, disable, suspend, off or stop option.
  3. Start the WinSafe98 Setup program by clicking on Setup.exe; WinSafe98 will instruct you to reboot. It will then shut down until you have rebooted. Following rebooting, the Setup program should automatically restart. In case it fails to restart automatically, click on C:\Temp\Winsafe\Setup.exe (this is the new location of the setup file) again and a message will tell you that an error has occurred during bootup and it will instruct you to reboot. This step is required to guarantee that the system is not corrupted before WinSafe98 starts copying System files.

    4. NOTES: Never force WinSafe98 to Backup a corrupted system.
    Multiple reboots may clean the     OS of minor problems.
    It is in your interest to install WinSafe98 to a stable computer. If after several reboots you still receive a message that an error has occurred double click on the file Safe.exe, this will then start the Setup program again. Windows being unable to load the Win.ini file causes this problem. 

  4. The Installer may ask if you have a compressed C: drive. Answer by clicking the appropriate box.
    If you do not know the whether your C: drive is compressed then go to step 4(a) below, otherwise skip to step 5. If you have a compressed C: drive Winsafe will also ask for the letter of the HOST drive

To run DriveSpace.
    1. Click the Start Button on the TASKBAR.
    2. Then click PROGRAMS.
    3. Then click Accessories.
    4. Then click System Tools.
    5. Then click DriveSpace.
      A window will appear listing information about all your Hard drives. Take note then answer the compressed C: drive question.

NOTE: If DriveSpace is not in the Systems Tools folder, use the FIND Files or Folders feature available by clicking the START Button
  1. The Installer will look for system files. Your system may not currently have all the files that WinSafe98 protects. In the event that one or more of these files does not exist on your system, the Installer will create empty substitute files with the correct filenames. These newly created files will have no effect on your system. WinSafe98 establishes these files so that if in the future you should upgrade certain hardware or software components, (such as a new mouse, drive, sound card etc.), WinSafe98 will be able to save the changes without having to reinstall WinSafe98. If you click cancel, the installation will terminate.

 

  1. If at anytime the setup program appears to have stopped check the Task Bar for any MSDOS windows that may be open. Close it and continue. WATCH THE TASKBAR FOR MSDOS WINDOWS. (If the mouse will not make the taskbar appear, the (optional) Windows keyboard button will, or press the alt + tab keys)
  1. The Installer will look for the Windows 95/98 Setup program and cabinet files on your computer. These are usually in the c:\windows\options folder but can be anywhere or nowhere.

If it does not find them, the Installer will ask you for their location. If they are not on your hard drive you may copy them to your hard drive now, then press yes when all the files are copied. Be sure to also copy the Setup program and all files found in this directory to your hard drive. If you wish to copy these files later or not at all, click No.

To copy these files, insert your Windows 95/98 CD, Open it in the Explorer, Right click the Win95 folder, Copy & Paste it into a new folder on your C: Drive.

To enable WinSafe98 to reinstall Windows 95/98 in the future from DOS or Safe Mode, click on "Reinstall Windows 95/98" under the Menu Bar Item Restore on the WinSafe98 interface. This option is useful if you are unable to get Windows 95/98 up and running. WinSafe98 can then reinstall Windows 95/98 for you from DOS or from Safe Mode if your CD fails to load.
  1. Run the Start Test by selecting the Menu Bar item Setup and Menu Item Start Test.
  2. If you have IE.40 on your system, set the Wait Time (located under the Setup Menu Bar Item) to 30. WinSafe98 will make adjustments each time you reboot until the Wait Time is set correctly, if it find that the Registry is still in use.
  3. Close WinSafe98 and reboot. When you re-enter Windows, WinSafe98 will tell you to backup. Use the Backup Current Files Button. If you get a message that a file (other then the Registry) is still in use increase the Wait time by 5. Reboot and repeat this process until you no longer get this message.

    4. When you first click on Backup Current Files WinSafe98 will verify all system files. If it finds on that is zero bytes the backup will stop. Read the Detail Report located under the Menu Bar Item Files. Look for a zero byte file in Windows. Replace the file if WinSafe98 did not already do so. Then click on the Backup Current Files button again.

    Once the first backup is completed WinSafe98 will ask you if you want WinSafe98 to verify system files when exiting Windows. If you click yes, WinSafe98 will place an Icon on your desktop to use in place of the Windows Start button shutdown. This feature will is explained in the Help file.

  4. After you have backed up your current system files, WinSafe98 is ready to use. At this point, it is wise to create a system report. You will need to have the file MSD.exe in the Winsafe folder in order to create this report. This report will be very handy in case of a major crash, installation of new hardware, or if you reinstall Windows 95/98 in the future. This report can take as long as 20 minutes to complete. It will create checksums on all files as well as create a written file of the configuration of your system and a written copy of you system files, less the Registry.

You will need to delete all Chklist.ms files first (if they exist on your system). These files will be recreated during the report process. Periodically check our Website for updates and enhancements.

 

SPECIAL NOTES

If you place the Windows Directory (folder) on a drive other than the C: Drive, that drive may not be available to you or WinSafe98 from Dos in case of a crash. WinSafe98 will only be able to restore your system in Safe Mode if the other drive is unavailable from DOS.

Be sure that Windows is not on a slave drive. WinSafe98 will create all the files needed no matter whether Windows is on a slave drive or a compressed drive. WinSafe98 will install as per your instructions. However, it may not be able to restore Window from DOS.

It is not recommended that you compress the C: Drive. If you compress the C: Drive the Host drive may not be available to restore from Dos or even safe mode. You are better off creating Empty Drive on C:. Compress other drives such as D: or E:. This will have no effect on restoring. As long as the Windows folder and WinSafe98 are on a drive that Dos can see (in a major crash) WinSafe98 will be able to restore the Operating System.

RECOMMENDATION: Install Windows to an uncompressed C: drive. Then install WinSafe98 to the same drive. If your C: is a slower drive then the add on, swap the hard drives in the computer and Install Windows to C: on the faster drive. This could save you from formatting and restoring. Losing all you data. Swapping drives will take about 1 hour including Installing Windows. You will need to uninstall and the reinstall Software that will change drive letters.

You now have the software to recover from any crash. Now with WinSafe98 on the job, you will never be reformatting and reinstalling again.

GLOSSARY

Compressed Drive: Under Windows 95/98, a COMPRESSED drive is a virtual drive whose data resides in a file that is located on a HOST drive. This file is called drvspace.###, where ### is a number like 001. The virtual drive may appear in My Computer as any drive you choose, including the C: drive. Use the MSWindows 95/98 program Drivespace3 to create and manage compressed drives.

Crash: A term used to reference the various causes of a computer or one of its components, to fail or refuse to operate. Most simple problems with a program or device can be fixed by simply rebooting the computer or clicking on a First-Aid type Fix-It button. Serious physical problems such as fire or head crashes usually require component replacement.
In between are the Windows 95/98 OS problems that occur when an important system file becomes corrupt that does not fix itself by simply rebooting. This is where WinSafe98 comes to the rescue.

Empty Drive: An empty drive is like a compressed drive with one important difference. An empty drive is not compressed. Like a compressed drive it is a virtual drive whose data resides in a file that is located on a HOST drive. For all practical purposes, it is a drive partition.

Menu Bar Item: The words that are at the top of the interface, Files, Restore, Setup, Utilities, and Help.

Menu Item: The item list found under each of the Menu Bar words.

OS (System): The special software that enables all your hardware and other software to communicate is called the Operating System (OS). WinSafe98 was created to protect your Operating System (Windows 95/98) from software disaster. It is also simply referred to as the system.

Taskbar & Tray: The graphical device on the Windows 95/98 desktop with the Small Windows Flag on the START Button.
The Tray is a small area near the Clock with tiny icons for Volume Control, System agent and any number of other items, including, if you have them, Background Virus Check, and other Utilities.

Windows: Windows is a loose term that can mean different things.

A Window is a graphical box that appears in a screen. It can feature independent properties. In Windows 95/98 the screen is known as the desktop. Windows 95/98 is the operating system of your computer. (Unless you have DOS, Apple, Amiga, NT, OS2, UNIX, Linux or other OS.) Windows is the name of the directory or folder in the Windows 95/98 OS that contains the files needed to operate your computer.