From: Kan Yabumoto tech@xxcopy.com
To: XXCOPY user
Subject: A minimum Win98SE Install
Date: 2003-04-08
===============================================================================
Introduction:
In many occasions, it is convenient to have a Windows Win9X/ME
system with a minimum set of functionality. A typical Win98SE
directory may grow to over 600 MB after years of use. But, it
can be trimmed to less than 40 MB for a mininum yet functional
environment. For example, when you migrate your Win9X system
to XP, it may be useful at times to keep the minimum Win9X
install as a dual-boot system which uses a modest disk space.
There are some differences among various releases of the
so-called "Win9X" (collectively referring to Windows 95, 95-OSR2,
98, 98SE, ME). Although Windows ME was the most recent release
in the Win95 family, due to its restrictive nature (i.e., does
not allow a smooth transition from the initial DOS stage to
the Windows (GUI) environment. Therefore, we favor Win98SE as
a relatively stable and easy-to-manage environment. Since the
variations within the Win9X family are relatively small, most of
what you find in this article should apply to all Win9X versions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Before going into the details, let me clarify that what I
refer to the "minimum" Windows environment is what I feel
essential for common Windows system management, mostly file
management operations. That includes the ability to access
the local area network, but not necessarily to the Internet.
It supports fully functional "Windows" (GUI) operations with
Explorer with mouse control.
In short, the minimum configuration is my arbitrary choice.
Supports Removed
--------------------------------------- -------------------
LAN access External USB-Disk Internet Explorer
RegEdit Scheduled Tasks Outlook Express
ScanDisk Windows Explorer Paint Brush
DOS Box Control Panel CD (music) Player
DeFragger 2xExplorer (shareware) Solitaire
WinIpcfg TotalCommander (shareware) Sound Recorder
----------------------------------------------------------------
What to expect:
The compactness of the Windows directory in the minimum Win9X
system speaks a volume for its virtue. The following chart
was compiled from a system that I have been using and the
directory size. Most of us don't even remember what was the
original size of the Windows directory when it was installed.
So, I went back and reinstalled the Win98SE system as a clean
install (a minimum configuration with network support).
In the following chart, three size values are listed which
are labeled, Initial (after a clean install), Before (the
result of years of usage), and After (the end result of
trimming non essential files), respectively.
Directories Initial Before After
------------------------------------------------------------
C:\windows\ (1st level only) 10 MB 22 MB 8 MB
C:\windows\system\ 98 MB 180 MB 23 MB
C:\windows\inf\ 12 MB 22 MB < 1 MB
C:\windows\java\ 11 MB 23 MB -----
C:\windows\sysbckup\ 8 MB 18 MB -----
C:\windows\help\ 7 MB 9 MB -----
C:\windows\fonts\ 5 MB 11 MB 3 MB
C:\windows\system32\ 4 MB 4 MB 1 MB
C:\windows\command\ 3 MB 5 MB 2 MB
C:\windows\Start Menu\ < 1 MB < 1 MB < 1 MB
C:\windows\All Users\ < 1 MB < 1 MB < 1 MB
C:\windows\desktop\ < 1 MB < 1 MB < 1 MB
C:\windows\(others)\ 13 MB 206 MB -----
------------------------------------------------------------
Total space (size) 172 MB 500 MB 37 MB
Total number of files 2,433 4,000 496
When we look at the history of the Windows OS evolution from
DOS, other than the rudimentary network support plus the GUI
support, everything else really lies outside of the traditional
sense of operating system. The extra features are those which
were once classified as applications (such as sound, image
processing, and even video handling). We should not lose the
sight by Microsoft's marketing policy of bundling everything
on earth as the so-called Windows. Once these non essential
parts are stripped away, Win 95 through ME should still be
very similar.
How do we trim the excess?
Unlike the good old DOS where just one set of files supported
practically all IBM-compatible PCs, the Windows operating system
is dependent on the specific combination of hardware components.
With Windows, hardware-specific device drivers are often needed.
This makes it unpractical to define a small set of files that can
support most of the PCs. The agonizingly long installation time
for the Windows OS is spent mostly on hardware related operations.
Therefore, the standard Windows OS contains a substantial amount
of files that are not always needed in a particular environment.
In order to achieve the ultimate minimum Win9X system for a
computer, we need to identify and eliminate what's not needed.
And, that takes time. The more you work, the more fat you can
trim --- it all depends upon how much time you want to invest.
From a practical point of view, what most of us want is not
necessaryly the absolute minimum configuration, but rather,
a reasonable configuration which is nearly optimum. After all,
there are quite a few small files that just can't justify our
attention. For this article, I've written a set of XXCOPY
command file scripts (.XCF files) which help you slash the Win9X
directory size dramatically with a least amount of effort.
Additional trimming of the directory size must be carried out
by you. To this end, I offer a few suggestions to follow.
The strategy in achieving your minimum Win9X environment.
Since this process is a trial-and-error method, it is best
that we keep the orininal full featured Widows directory
intact and work on its duplicate. It is inevitable that
when files are removed from a working Windows environment,
the system may become unstable, or even un-bootable. The
technique described here keeps this in mind and prepares a
simple recovery method in the iterative process. However,
if you are a complete novice in the command line operation,
this technique may not be for you. If you are scared by
this statement, you may observe what others have to say
with this article in the XXCOPY discussion group.
We will create a special boot diskette from which you can
boot into either the original (MAX) Windows or the trimmed
down (MIN) Windows from a simple menu option. This approach
enables us to work without disturbing the existing system
boot setups on the hard disk.
Let us call the special diskette, M9BSF disk which stands for
"Minimum Win9X Boot Switch Floppy" (if only for no better name).
The M9BFS disk used here is a variation of the Quick Boot Disk
that was described in XXTB #32).
When you create the M9BSF disk and restart your computer,
you will see the following four choices in the startup menu:
CURRENT // reboot without switching
ORIGINAL // make the original (MAX) windows current and boot
WIN_MINI // make the minimum (MIN) windows current and boot
DOS_PROMPT // stay in the DOS command prompt
The switching between the original and the minimum Win9X
environments is carried out by renaming the windows directories.
Original Mode <---> Minimum Mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Win directory C:\WINDOWS\ <---> C:\WINDOWS.MAX\
Minimum Win directory C:\WINDOWS.MIN\ <---> C:\WINDOWS\
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Since WinME does not allow you to enter the Windows (GUI)
environment directly from the initial DOS (7.1) stage, every
time the windows directories are switched, an extra reboot is
needed. Windows 95, 98 and 98SE are much easier to work.
Procedure overview (See the next section for detail).
1. Download the minwin9x.zip file for set of script files.
All necessary script files are pre-configured.
2. Prepare the M9BSF disk by formatting a system diskette
and add a few files by running MKM9BSF.BAT.
3. Create the minimum Win9X directory by running MKMIN9X.BAT
which selectively copies files from the Win9X directory.
4. Reboot the system using the M9BSF disk and switch to
the new mimimum Win9x environment for the initial test.
5. Further remove non essential files from the minimum Win9X
directory. If needed, restore the orignal Win9X directory.
Step-by-step Instruction.
1. Boot up your computer into the Win9X (GUI) environment.
2. Download the following file,
http://www.xxcopy.com/download/minwin9x.zip
Unzip the downloded file, minwin9x.zip into the temporary directory
(e.g., C:\MinWin9x that was created earlier as the working directory).
You will find the following files:
README.TXT // a documemt file
WINSTATS.BAT // show stats of the Windows directory
MKM9BSF.BAT // batch file to make the M9BSF disk
MKMIN9X.BAT // batch file to make the Minimum Windows directory
MKMIN9X0.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 0)
MKMIN9X1.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 1)
MKMIN9X2.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 2)
MKMIN9X3.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 3)
MKMIN9X4.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 4)
MKMIN9X5.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 5)
MKMIN9X6.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 6)
MKMIN9X7.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 7)
MKMIN9X8.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 8)
MKMIN9X9.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step 9)
MKMIN9XA.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step A)
MKMIN9XB.XCF // xxcopy command file (Step B)
M9XFILES.TXT // list of refrence file set (by size)
M9XFILEA.TXT // list of refrence file set (by name)
M9REFDIR.ZIP // reference (skeleton) directory
3. Open a DOS Box ( Start > Run... [ command.com ] )
In the remaining steps, I will provide the command line
that you type at the DOS prompt.
4. Make the temporary directory that you created earlier current.
run command: CD C:\MinWin9x
5. Format a blank diskette.
run command: FORMAT A: /S
6. Run the MKM9BSF.BAT program in the current directory.
run command: MKM9BSF.BAT
The batch file will create the following files:
A:\MSDOS.SYS
A:\CONFIG.SYS
A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
These files are created on-the-fly based upon the name of
the current Windows 9X directory (set by WINDIR setting).
The diskette will be ready for the next reboot.
7. Run the MKMIN9X.BAT program in the current directory.
run command: MKMIN9X.BAT
The batch file program will invoke a series of XXCOPY
commands using the command files saved in this directory.
When the batch file is successfully executed, the new
minimum Win9x directory will be created.
9. Reboot the system using the M9BSF disk.
Make sure that the BIOS is configured to start from
the diskette (A:) if not set accordingly.
10. You will find the following boot menu:
CURRENT // reboot without switching
ORIGINAL // make the original (MAX) windows current and boot
WIN_MINI // make the minimum (MIN) windows current and boot
DOS_PROMPT // stay in the DOS command prompt
11. Select the WIN_MINI option and enter the new minimum Win9X
environment. Should you find the new environment unstable,
you may reboot the system using the M9BSF disk and select
the ORIGINAL option to go back to the full Win9X environment.
12. Ultimately, it will be most convenient if you make changes
in the XXCOPY command files (MKMIN9X?.XCF) and recreate
the minimum Windows directory from scratch. The XCF file
set will serve as self-documenting scripts which can be
used again, or become a basis for further refinements.
To obtain the statistics on the current Windows directory,
run the WINSTATS.BAT script.
Another useful document can be generated by the following
XXCOPY command:
xxcopy %windir%\ /LZL/S/H/NP/Q2
Refinement strategies:
If you find, warning messages complaining a missing driver file,
write the file name down and make necessary adjustments inside
the Windows if you can.
Alternatively, you may reboot and select the DOS_PROMPT option.
At the clean DOS environment before entering Windows GUI, you may
copy missing files from the original windows directory
(C:\WINDOWS.MAX\).
If you start this procedure from a Win9X system which has been
in use for months, it is likely that the initial size of your
minimum Windows directory may be 100 MB or more. The first
thing you need to do is to establish a stable Windows environment
without encountering any warning/error message at the time of
booting. There are many approaches that you can take after the
initial attempt to an optimally lean Windows directory.
1. One of my suggestions to achieve the smallest Windows directory
is to install a fresh Win9X directory using Microsoft's
Install CD (choosing the minimum option). The initial
Windows directory size will be about 175 MB for Win98SE.
By running the MKMIN9X.BAT program on the freshly installed
Win9X directory, you should be able to further trim it down
to less than 40 MB. A fresh install of Win9X may take
45-60 minutes. But, it may well be quicker than any other
method.
2. Or, you may save some time if you study the reference files
that are included in this package (also shown in XXTB #82.
M9XFILES.TXT // list of refrence file set (by size)
M9XILESA.TXT // list of refrence file set (by name)
You should create a list of files in your Windows directory
and go after large files. The M9XFILES.TXT file will give
you a convenient reference since it is sorted by the file
size. By going after the handful of largest files in
the list, your early efforts should be rewarding. But, as
you go down the list of files, the return on investment in
time will gradually decrease.
3. Yet another method for consideration is to create a
reference windows (skeleton) directory by unzipping the
M9REFDIR.ZIP on your hard disk. To conserve space, all
the files in the reference directory are zero-byte files.
You may use XXCOPY's advance feature to manipulate your
Windows directory with the skeleton directory as a reference.
For example the following 3-step procedure removes files
that are 100 KB or more that are not found in the reference
directory (the second step marks the selected files by
Archive bit (A-bit) which will be used in the 3rd step).
xxcopy c:\windows\ /az/s // clear the A-bit
xxcopy c:\windows\ c:\m9refdir\ /aa/s/h/bb/sz:100k-
xxcopy c:\windows\ /rs/a/s/h/r // remove files with A-bit
Or, you may tag the files not in the reference directory
by A-bit and use other tools such as TotalCommander to
move files in-and-out of the directory for experiments.
xxcopy c:\windows\ /az/s // clear the A-bit
xxcopy c:\windows\ c:\m9refdir\ /aa/s/h/bb
Feedback:
Due to the time constraints, the list of the files in my
minimum Windows 98SE system is not the absolute minimum.
If you find any of the files included in my list that is
not essential to most computers, please let us know by
posting message at the XXCOPY discussion group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xxcopy/
Please do not send me Email asking technical questions
regarding this procedure. I encourage you to post your
question in the discussion group.
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