PC Hacks

Hack #91. Hack the Windows 95/98/Me DOS Startup

Gain more control and boot faster by customizing this DOS configuration file.

In this hack, you'll learn ways to customize how DOS boots and to make booting up faster.

A Typical MSDOS.SYS File

Windows 95, 98, and Me use a file called MSDOS.SYS to configure the initial boot process. MSDOS.SYS resides in the root folder of the boot drive with Read-Only, System, and Hidden file attributes. The MSDOS.SYS file contains sections of information pertaining to the Windows installation and boot options. The [Paths] section of the file lists information about Windows' files (the Windows folder and location of the Registry), and the [Options] section holds information about customizing bootup.

Warning

Under DOS 6.22 and earlier, MSDOS.SYS is a binary program file critical to basic DOS operation and is not editable. Only with the DOS supplied in Windows 95 and higher is the MSDOS.SYS file an editable text file.

To view and edit the contents of the C:\MSDOS.SYS file, you must first remove the Read Only and Hidden file attributes. To do this, get to a DOS prompt (in Windows, open MS-DOS Prompt or go to StartRun, type in COMMAND.COM, and then click OK) and issue the following commands:

X:\>C:
C:\FOO>CD \ 
C:\>attrib -r -h

Tip

When you are done editing MSDOS.SYS, restore its attributes with attrib +r +h +s MSDOS.SYS.

Note that there are spaces between the -r, -h, and -s in the previous command. The file is now ready to be viewed or edited with a plain text ...