Implementing Windows 95 Updates |
The information in this article applies to:
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Microsoft Windows 95
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Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release versions 1, 2, 2.1, 2.5
SUMMARY
Microsoft stands behind its Windows 95 product, and develops updates for
Windows 95 as needed to resolve critical customer situations. This
article provides general information about Windows 95 updates. Topics in
this article include:
- Windows 95 Update Version Information
- Identifying Windows 95 Updates
- The Windows 95 Update Information Tool (Qfecheck.exe)
- Installing Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
- Uninstalling Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
- Installing Windows 95 Updates Using Server-Based Setup
- Obtaining Windows 95 Updates
- Knowledge Base Query Tips
MORE INFORMATIONWindows 95 Update Version Information
The version numbers of the original retail and OEM release of Windows 95
and the OEM Service Releases are listed below. In general, files included
with the indicated release of Windows 95 have the indicated version stamp.
Release Version File dates
----------------------------------------------------------
Windows 95 retail, OEM 4.00.950 7/11/95
Windows 95 retail SP1 4.00.950 0A 7/11/95
OEM Service Release 1 4.00.950A 12/31/95
OEM Service Release 2 4.00.1111* 8/24/96
OEM Service Release 2.1 4.03.1212-1214* 8/24/96-8/27/97
OEM Service Release 2.5 4.03.1214* 8/24/96-11/18/97 NOTE- In the case of Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2), 2.1 (OSR
2.1) and 2.5 (OSR 2.5), not all files have this version stamp. In the case
of OSR 2.1 and OSR 2.5, only files updated to provide support for the
Win32 Driver Model (WDM) and Universal Serial Bus (USB) may have this
version stamp (the remainder maintain the same version stamps as the
corresponding OSR2 files).
You can view a file's version information by using the right mouse button
to click a file in Windows Explorer, clicking Properties on the menu that
appears, and clicking the Version tab. If the property sheet for the file
does not show a Version tab, there is no version information available for
that file.
With few exceptions, Windows 95 updates are stamped with a version number
of 4.00.951 or greater, indicating that the file is a newer version than
originally included with Windows 95. Updates to Windows 95 OEM Service
Release 2 (OSR2) generally have a version of 4.00.1112 or greater.
It is possible that multiple fixes would be applied to the same component.
With a few rare exceptions, these fixes are always cumulative. A change
implemented in a given version of a particular component is also included
in later versions of that component, along with any additional change
implemented in the later versions. (For example, version 4.00.952 would
contain the change implemented in version 4.00.951, as well as the new
change.)
The cumulative nature of these changes, combined with the incremented
version numbers, means that, with very few exceptions, there is always one
"current" version of a given component, containing all fixes made to that
component to date.
Identifying Windows 95 Updates
Nearly all Windows 95 update files can be positively identified by the
following two characteristics, which can be viewed on the Version tab of
the property sheet for the file:
- A version number greater than the product release version.
- An additional string resource named "Special Build Description" that
is set to the value "QFE."
Some Windows 95 files do not contain version information to identify the
file. In such cases, the modified date and size of the file can be
examined and compared to the original release version of the file. These
are not conclusive indicators, however, because the modified date can be
affected by various conditions, and changes in a file may not result in a
change in the file's size.
The Windows 95 Update Information Tool (Qfecheck.exe)
The Windows 95 Update Information tool (Qfecheck.exe) is installed with
each Windows 95 update. This tool uses information stored in the registry,
and version and special build information in the files themselves, to
identify installed Windows 95 updates. This tool can be used to identify
which Windows 95 updates have been installed on a given computer.
To run the Qfecheck tool, run the Qfecheck.exe file in the Windows folder
(or in some rare cases, the Windows\System folder). The tool contains
online help.
Installing Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
To install a Windows 95 Update on a single computer, run the self-
extracting installer. This performs the following actions:
- Unpack the files that are needed for installation into a temporary
folder. These files typically include:
- The updated component file(s)
- The QFECHECK tool (Qfecheck.exe and Qfecheck.hlp)
- An .inf file used to uninstall the update
- An .inf file used to run the installation (W95upd.inf)
- In some cases, Advpack.dll, W95inf16.dll, and W95inf32.dll files
- Use the Windows 95 built-in Setup library (Setupx.dll) or an external
setup library (Advpack.dll) to install the specified update according
to the directives in the provided .inf file (W95upd.inf). This .inf
file contains directives to copy files to their appropriate locations,
and add registry settings as appropriate. Some later installer
packages may use multiple .inf files to allow a single package to
install one of several different versions of an updated file,
depending on the version of Windows 95 that is installed.
If a newer version of the updated component has already been
installed, the older version is not installed. In most cases,
this occurs silently. For some older installer packages, you
may be prompted to keep or overwrite the existing component.
- Inform you when the update is complete and prompt you to restart
the computer. When you click OK, the temporary files from step 1 are
removed and the installation program terminates.
Uninstalling Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
In most cases, Windows 95 updates can be safely and easily uninstalled and
replaced with the original versions of the updated components. This is
typically facilitated by an .inf file copied to either the Windows\INF\QFE
folder (in most cases), or to the Windows folder (for some older installer
packages), during installation of the update. This file typically has a
name of the form <xxxxx>_UN.INF. This .inf file can be used to uninstall
the Windows 95 update by right-clicking the file in Windows Explorer, and
then clicking Install.
When a Windows 95 update is uninstalled, you are prompted for the original
Windows 95 installation disks or CD-ROM. The original version of the files
are copied and overwrite the updated versions. An alternate file location
may also be specified at this time. When uninstallation is complete, you
typically need to restart the computer for the change to take effect.
Installing Windows 95 Updates Using Server-Based Setup
Extracting Package Contents:
Most Windows 95 update installer packages now support command-line
switches that allow the contents of the package to be extracted to a
specified directory, without launching the INF-driven installation
routine. The command to perform this operation would be:
<path to update file>\<update filename>.EXE /C /T:<destination folder>
For example, to extract the contents of XXXXXUPD.EXE, located in
C:\DOWNLOAD, to the C:\UPDATE destination folder, the command would be:
C:\DOWNLOAD\XXXXXUPD.EXE /C /T:C:\UPDATE
This functionality is available in Windows 95 update installer packages
created after October 1996. If you are not certain whether a particular
installer package supports this functionality, run the installer with a
"/?" command-line switch. For example, type the following command:
C:\DOWNLOAD\XXXXXUPD.EXE /?
If a window appears listing the available command-line switches for the
package, you may use this command to extract the contents of the package
to the desired destination folder. If, instead, a window appears prompting
you to install the update, the installer package does not support these
command-line switches, and the alternate method described below must be
used to extract the contents of the package.
Referring to the steps above for installing onto a single computer, note
that the files used in the installation are located in a temporary folder
until you click OK in the final prompt window. During this time, the files
can be copied into a different folder and saved for further use. Depending
on the specific Windows 95 update being installed, this temporary folder
may be one of the following folders:
- Windows\Temp
- The <temp> folder (as specified by the TEMP environment variable)
- <temp>\Ixp000.tmp (as specified by the TEMP environment variable)
Copying the Files to a Network Share:
If Windows 95 workstations are being set up from a network share, the
updated component files can be copied into the appropriate folder(s) on
the network share before installing Windows 95 from this share. In this
way, new workstations can be configured with the updated components from
the very beginning.
The appropriate folder into which to copy the updated component files
depends upon the type of installation.
- If the network installation share contains only the Windows 95 .cab
files, the updated component files should be copied into the same
folder as the .cab files. When Windows 95 Setup copies the file from
this source to the destination, it will copy standalone files from that
folder, if they exist, instead of the same files from within the .cab
files.
- If the network installation share is a server-based-Setup share point
created using the Netsetup tool (from the Windows 95 CD-ROM), the
updated component files should be copied into the same folder as the
components they replace, overwriting the original versions of those
files. Note that a given file may appear in more than one folder, so be
sure to update all instances of the original file.
The .inf file used to install Windows 95 updates (W95upd.inf) includes
registry information that is either necessary for the update to provide
the intended functionality, or is simply useful in tracking which updates
have been installed. We recommend that this file be examined by the
administrator, and the appropriate sections merged into the Msbatch.inf
file used during Setup, to ensure that this registry information is
incorporated when the update is installed.
To install Windows 95 updates on existing Windows 95 workstations that are
running a shared installation of Windows 95 from a server, it is normally
sufficient to update the component files in the shared folder. In very
rare cases, updates to real-mode components will require the files to be
copied to the individual computers, either on the server or on the
workstation's local hard disk or boot floppy disk.
To install Windows 95 updates on existing Windows 95 workstations that are
running local, standalone installations of Windows 95, one of the
following methods can be used:
These methods are suggestions. There may be other methods not listed here
that can be used to distribute these software updates.
NOTE: When the self-extracting installer is used to install the Windows 95
update, a check is made to ensure that a newer version of the component is
not inadvertently overwritten with the version being installed. If an
alternate installation method is used, care must be taken to prevent
replacing a newer component with an older one. In some cases, replacing a
newer component with an older one could render the computer unable to
boot.
Obtaining Windows 95 Updates
Categorized by availability and distribution methods, Windows 95 updates
fall into two primary categories: those available publicly from online
sources, and those not available publicly, but only available by
contacting Microsoft Technical Support.
Publicly-distributed Windows 95 updates are available to be downloaded
from the Microsoft Software Library. For more information about
downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
To determine which file to download, query the Microsoft Knowledge Base to
find the article that references the issue. Specific instructions are
included in each article.
Windows 95 updates that are not publicly distributed can be obtained by
contacting Microsoft Technical Support, through any of our direct support
offerings, including telephone and Web response.
Note that server-based Setup (using Netsetup) of Windows 95 OEM Service
release 2 and 2.1 (OSR2) is not supported. OSR2 was designed to be
preinstalled on new computers by computer manufacturers. One of the main
components, the FAT32 file system, requires that the computer's hard disk
be repartitioned. For this reason, OSR2 is not distributed to resellers.
Attempts to distribute OSR2 using Netsetup result in users being prompted
for a Product ID number. This number is usually listed on the Microsoft
Certificate of Authenticity. Modifying the Msbatch.inf file does not
prevent this prompt.
Knowledge Base Query Tips
Information about specific Windows 95 updates and issues resolved by these
updates can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base by querying on the
issue's symptoms.
Additional query words:
Keywords : osr2 win95
Version : WINDOWS:95
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo
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