How to shutdown NT and get into MS-DOS
Bill Kopf
run the Windows95 setup.exe. I get the message - shutdown NT and start DOS.
How do I do that?
Bill Kopf
Helmut P. Einfalt
You don't.
WinNT is a *very* different beast from Win9x and does not include any
DOS to begin with (and no, NT's command prompt doesn't help in this
case).
Downgrading to Win9x is nearly impossible (why the heck would you want
to do such a thing?); your best bet is to boot from a DOS floppy and to
run the Win9x setup from there.
Be aware that WinNT comes with a different file system called NTFS (NT
File System) that cannot be accessed or read by Win95 -- *before*
attempting anything you should check that the data are not stored in
NTFS format, else you won't be able to read them once you've got Win9x
installed. You can check the file system by right-clicking on a drive in
"My Computer" and looking for its properties. If the file system is FAT,
everything is ok, if it is NTFS, you will want to backup your data to a
different medium (with FAT file system).
Once you are sure you'll be able to access your data, much depends on
the setup of the machine: If WinNT is installed on a partition (or HD)
of its own, away from any data you might want to keep, the simplest way
is to delete the partition and to recreate it before installing Win9x.
If not, you'll have to boot to a DOS floppy, delete NT's boot files in
the root directory (and preferably the whole of NT's structure, too) and
then install Win9x.
But again: Why the heck would you want to do that?
Helmut
--
Nåch dera Zei'n kimmt nix mehr
Bill Kopf
This is an old computer I once used as a server for testing Visual Basic
programs on Microsoft's BackOffice Server. Now I'm trying to convert it to
an internet and email client for a friend. I assumed BackOffice and NT
Server would be overkill for a client machine. What's your opinion? I have
already deleted Exchange.
Bill Kopf
"Helmut P. Einfalt" <helmut.p.einfalt_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_aon.at> wrote in
message news:45a948cf$0$25623$91ce...@newsreader02.highway.telekom.at...
Helmut P. Einfalt
> Helmut
>
> This is an old computer I once used as a server for testing Visual
> Basic programs on Microsoft's BackOffice Server. Now I'm trying to
> convert it to an internet and email client for a friend. I assumed
> BackOffice and NT Server would be overkill for a client machine.
> What's your opinion? I have already deleted Exchange.
NT Server doesn't hurt, and it is a lot more stable and reliable than
any flavor of Win95 (in Microsoft terms, that is *ggg*).
Unless you plan to use one of the few vintage programs that need a real
DOS as operating system underneath, I'd stick with NT
But then that's me...