PHOTOS:  Windows 98 CD-ROM, Windows Me CD-ROM

The Windows operating systems are comprised of a number of low level machine programs which control the inner workings of the machine.  The operating system also contains a collection of built in programs which let the user perform useful tasks such as writing and editing documents, playing games, connecting to the Internet, viewing and editing graphics, music, and other media, as well as using, controlling, and manipulating all of the hardware and data which make up the computer.  The OS is the software that gives you and the computer something to do - without it, the computer just sits there as a collection of dysfunctional parts.  The Windows OS gives you "icons" (small pictures) to click on with a mouse controlled cursor, which make the computer do the things you want it to do.  Windows is made to run on virtually every combination of PC compatible parts, providing software companies and users a common platform and familiar graphic interface to use on all modern computers, despite the continuous variations and improvements between manufacturers and models of computer hardware.  Windows comes installed on new machines by the manufacturer, but if you are building a computer or upgrading, you may have to install it yourself.

The process of installing windows is different for every version, but the following process holds true for all of the most commonly used desktop versions:

VIDEO:  Windows 98 install (very long video)

1)   Boot the computer with the Microsoft Startup Disk (as described in the section entitled "Fdisk/Format”), or with the Windows install CD (shown above).  Choose to start the machine with CD-ROM support, if asked.  Watch for the drive letter which is assigned to your CD-ROM drive - it will say something to the effect "Drive D: = MSCD001 unit 1".  Make a note of this drive letter.

PHOTO:  CD drive letter (In this case the CD drive letter is “E:”)

2)   Insert the Windows Setup CD and wait for the CD-ROM LED to stop blinking.

3)   At the DOS command prompt, type in “D:” [ENTER] (if the letter of your CD-ROM in step 1 is something other than "D", replace the D: above with the appropriate letter), then “setup" [ENTER]

4)   Press [ENTER] in response to the statement "Setup is now going to perform a routine check on your computer system, to continue press [ENTER], to quit press [ESC]", then  press [ENTER] when the scandisk process completes.

5)   The Windows Install program will begin to ask you a series of questions.  From this point on in the installation, ACCEPT ALL OF THE DEFAULT RESPONSES TO SETUP QUESTIONS.  That means click "YES", "OK", "CONTINUE", "NEXT", "FINISH", etc., whenever you are asked to make a choice.  You can make setup changes in Windows, add/remove components, etc., later on, once the operating system has been installed.

6)   You will be asked to enter a license number at some point during the installation.  This CD key can be found on the Setup CD jewel case or cover.  Type it in exactly as written and continue to accept all of the default answers to each installation question.

7)   It may take anywhere from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours (depending on the speed of your computer and the choice of operating system) for all of the questions to be answered, all of the files to be copied to your hard drive, and for the machine to restart several times.

8)   The desktop, and a Windows "Welcome" screen will be displayed when the installation is complete.  At this point, most systems require the addition of several software drivers to complete the setup of the computer. (see the next section entitled "Drivers” to complete this process).