Configure Windows 9x startup with Msdos.sys

The Msdos.sys file is located in the root of the system partition (Usually C:), and contains settings that control the startup of Windows 9x. The Msdos.sys is a standard text-file, which can be edited using Notepad.

The MsDos.sys contains two sections:

• [Paths] - Specifies the location of the Windows installation.
• [Options] - Specifies the settings used at Windows startup.

Some of the more useful settings available in the [options]-section: <table border="1"><tr><th>Setting</th><th>Description</th></tr><tr><td>AutoScan = 2</td><td>Run scandisk at startup after Windows crash (0 = No, 1 = Prompt, 2 = Scan)</td></tr><tr><td>BootDelay = 0</td><td>How many seconds one have to press F5/F8 to break startup</td></tr><tr><td>BootGUI = 1</td><td>Launch Windows after running Autoexec.bat</td></tr><tr><td>BootKeys = 1</td><td>Enable startup keyboard keys (F5/F8)</td></tr><tr><td>BootMenu = 1</td><td>Show boot menu by default, like if the F8 key was pressed</td></tr><tr><td>BootMenuDelay = 3</td><td>How many seconds it should show the boot menu before continuing</td></tr><tr><td>BootMulti = 0</td><td>Allows booting to the previous operating system Windows by pressing F8 at startup</td></tr><tr><td>DblSpace = 0</td><td>Load double space drivers</td></tr><tr><td>DrvSpace = 0</td><td>Load drive space drivers</td></tr><tr><td>DoubleBuffer = 0</td><td>Enable double buffering for SCSI devices</td></tr><tr><td>Loadtop = 1</td><td>Load Command.com in upper memory</td></tr><tr><td>Logo = 1</td><td>Show Windows logo while booting</td></tr><tr><td>Network = 1</td><td>Enable network support in safemode</td></tr></table>

More Info MS KB118579