As you may or may not know, configuration computers is part of my live
everyday, and if a machine is running in DOS compatibility mode, that is a
PROBLEM, and I will HAVE to fix it (if hack Registry couldn't help, I will
have to format/delete windows if needed). A PC can run in DOS compatibility
mode without any problem, but the perfomance would be drop down, and trust
me, no one would like to see "your computer is in MS DOS compatibility mode,
....." by any meaning, unless he/she has to access very old
hardware/software which are not possible to operate under normal mode.

Win95/win98 does not need any DOS driver at all, if you don't need to run
pure DOS program (program which has to run in DOS, not DOS window) and that
program needs to access hardware such like sound card, SCSI devices,.... In
face, in windows, even you have loaded DOS driver (eg. for CDROM), win95/98
will replace it with 32bit driver. So, you can see, DOS driver won't do any
good, if there is no need for it.

One exception would be some special hardware which DO require DOS driver
during the OS installation (eg, special CD drive on laptop), but after the
OS is up and running, again, don't need DOS any more.

Jun Qian

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Griffiths" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2000 5:07 PM
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] DOS Drivers


Jun Qian said...

>Nospin website has the instructions you need for installation of win98, it
>is not much different from win95, but I do want to make some suggestion to
>avoid possible problems:...

>...2)Do not use any DOS driver unless it is 200% necessary, if your
computer
>supports boot from CD, then boot from win98 CD, you don't need any floppy
>disk for the installation. For odd reasons, windows may set itself into DOS
>compatibility mode if there is DOS driver exist (remove DOS driver may not
>correct the problem unless you hack windows registry).

I have a great deal of respect for the effort you put into subscriber
queries and wondered if you would enlighten me as to why one should avoid
DOS drivers or even allowing Windows to run in DOS compatibility mode. I
have seen this before and thought it a normal part of the Windows set-up.

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