Windows 9x Notes
Windows 95 and 98 include very different versions of MS-DOS which omit some commands. Some of these commands were not included as they were replaced
by graphical versions that only run under Windows 95. Others were not included
as they were infrequently used. Some of them were retained, but not as
part of the “standard” Windows 95 install. They can be found on the Windows
95 CD in the \OTHER\OLDMSDOS directory or at Microsoft’s
website in the free downloads section. If you have Windows 95 OSR2+
or Windows 98 then the chances are that you only have QBASIC.EXE, QBASIC.HLP
and HELP.COM so if you want the extra commands then you will need to download
them from Microsoft’s website.
A few other notes about Win9x: most older disk utilities such as Norton Disk Doctor, PC Tools and disk compression software such as Stacker are unsuitable for use with Win9x because they can damage the long file names used by Windows. Later versions of Win95 and Win98 introduced a new disk format called FAT32. It has a number of benefits but older disk utilities cannot read it. When using Win9x it is best only to use utilities that
expressly say they can be used with Win9x.
| Command | Possible reason for omission | Available on Win95 CD? |
| append | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |
| graftabl | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| monoumb.386 | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |
| romdrive.sys | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| assign | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| graphics | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |
| msav | All anti-virus software was removed because Win95 uses a different kernel |
No |
| share | Does not work well (or at all) with Win95 | No |
| backup | Replaced by MSBACKUP and later a graphical back up program | Yes |
| help | Supplemented/replaced by information in the Win95 resource kit | Yes |
| msbackup | Replaced by a graphical back up program | Yes |
| sizer | Part of MemMaker. Thought unnecessary with Win95’s memory management | Yes |
| chkstate.sys | Part of MemMaker. Thought unnecessary with Win95’s memory management | Yes |
| instsupp.bat | This installs the supplemental MS-DOS files properly in Win95 | Yes |
| power | Replaced by Win95’s own power management | No |
| smartmon | Replaced by System Monitor | No |
| comp | Replaced by FC | No |
| interlnk | Replaced by Win95 Direct Cable Connection | Yes |
| Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes | |
| tree | Obscure, little used or dangerous command and only shows short file names. |
Yes |
| dosshell | Removed from DOS 6+. | No |
| intersvr | Replaced by Win95 Direct Cable Connection | Yes |
| printer.sys | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| undelete | Does not work well with long file names. | Yes |
| edlin | Replaced by EDIT (and not before time!) | Yes |
| join | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| qbasic | Fairly obscure, although it can be useful | Yes |
| unformat | Does not work well with long file names. | No |
| ega.sys | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| loadfix | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |
| ramdrive.sys | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| vsafe | All anti-virus software was removed because Win95 uses a different kernel |
No |
| expand | This was replaced by a different expand utility | Yes |
| memcard | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| recover | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| fasthelp | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | No |
| memmaker | Thought unnecessary with Win95’s memory management | Yes |
| replace | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |
| fastopen | Obscure, little used or dangerous command and very dangerous | No |
| mirror | This only appeared in DOS 5 | No |
| restore | Obscure, little used or dangerous command | Yes |