Windows Configuration Files
In addition to supporting the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows 98 support the System.ini and Win.ini configuration files.
Note: Windows 95 and Windows 98 store the bulk of their configuration information in the Windows Registry. However, they do support the System.ini, Win.ini, Autoexec.bat, and Config.sys files for backward compatibility with older Windows and MS-DOS applications. In this section, we focus on the Windows 3.x versions of these configuration files.
System.ini
The System.ini configures additional device drivers and other items that are required to run the Windows shell. A portion of the System.ini is shown in Figure 10.3.
The first line in the System.ini file loads the user interface program (also called the shell) named Progman.exe (Windows 3.x Program Manager). This shell can be replaced with a custom shell, such as Norton Utilities shell.
The second line of the System.ini file loads the mouse driver. The System.ini file is broken into several different areas. You can create additional areas to support additional equipment, such as sound cards and special video cards.
The [386enh] area (shown in Figure 10.4) provides the information for Windows 3.1 if the system is running in enhanced mode.
You enable 32-bit disk access and configure the swap file in this area of System.ini.
To modify information in the System.ini, you can use the Edit utility or Notepad.exe in Windows 3.x. To configure a line in any Windows 3.1 .ini file as a comment that will be ignored by the system, place a semicolon at the beginning of the line. A sample driver file is shown below.
[mci]
;WaveAudio=Mciwave.drv Removed by Bob on 10/12/99
WaveAudio=Abcwave.drv ;This is the new driver file
Sequencer=Mciseq.drv
CDAudio=Mcicda.drv
Note: Windows 95 and Windows 98 also have System.ini files. You can access all your configuration files via the Sysedit.exe utility. Just click Start, Run, and then type Sysedit.
(You can also configure the swap file through the Windows 3.x interface as a temporary swap file or a permanent swap file. Using the interface is safer than modifying the System.ini directly.)
Win.ini
The Win.ini file configures the user’s environment, including the desktop wallpaper, mouse double-click speed, and file extension associations. A portion of the Win.ini appears in Figure 10.5.
Several user environment variables are configured in the [Windows] section. Notice the load= line; it is used to run programs automatically when Windows is loaded. This line is the Windows equivalent of the Autoexec.bat file. You can see that keyboard typing speed, cursor blink rate, and mouse double-click speed are also configured in the [Windows] section of the Win.ini file.
The [Desktop] section is essentially the configuration section for the Windows background (a.k.a. desktop). Here, you can configure the desktop wallpaper, the pattern of the desktop, and the clarity (granularity) of the desktop.
The [Extensions] section, which is just starting at the bottom of Figure 10.5, maps file extensions to the applications that use those types of files. For example, the Notepad.exe program is used to open files with the .txt file extension (e.g., Myfile.txt).
Other sections in the Win.ini file pertain to port settings [ports], language settings [intl], fonts [Fonts], sounds [sounds], and more. In addition, applications can write sections into the Win.ini to maintain settings specific to the application.
Note: The user typically configures Win.ini and System.ini settings throug the Control Panel. The application that runs the user interface then modifies these files to reflect the changes.
Program Information Files
If you run MS-DOS applications in Windows 3.x, you should make a PIF (Program Information File). A PIF is a binary file that tells Windows 3.x how to create an MS-DOS virtual machine (DVM). The PIF directs the amount of memory resources given to the MS-DOS application.
A _default.pif is provided for Windows 3.x; it creates a VM that runs with as many MS-DOS applications as possible. You can also create your own PIF files. The PIF Editor application allows you to do this easily (Figure 10.6). The PIF Editor is located in the Main program group of Windows 3.x. Essentially, the PIF for an application is similar to a custom autoexec.bat and config.sys file for that program.
To learn more about creating, editing, or using PIFs, see the PIF Editor’s Help files. You can also access Help by pressing F1.
WINDOWS CONTROL PANEL
Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows 98 all have a Control Panel that allows you to configure several hardware and software settings (Figure 10.7).
The Windows 95 and Windows 98 Control Panels can be accessed via the Start Menu (Start, Settings, Control Panel). The Windows 3.x Control Panel is in the Main program group.
.Table 10.4 details the icons of the Control Panel.
Other icons in the Control Panel aren’t listed in the table either because they are rarely used or because they are used for specific purposes that are usually beyond the reach of standalone desktop system configuration. In addition, certain programs can place extra icons in the Control Panel. For example, QuickTime, a video playback program, installs an additional icon to the Windows 95 and Windows 98 Control Panels.
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