How to Install Windows 95 With a Disk

Did you know that you can still install Windows 95 on a PC? If you can get your hand on a Windows 95 installation disk, check out our guide on installing this vintage version of Windows on your computer.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Preparing for installation

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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Installation

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The installation process should be similar on all versions of Windows 95.

When this screen appears, press ↵ Enter.
If you haven't already allocated a partition to your hard drive, make sure 'Configure unallocated disk space' is highlighted and ↵ Enter.
3
Select whether you would like large disk support.
- This is a matter of personal preference but 'Yes' was chosen in this tutorial.
- This message may not come up if your hard drive is smaller than 512mb.
7
Accept the license agreement.
- It's a good idea to read the agreement so you know what you're agreeing to.
9
Select where on your hard drive you want Windows 95 to install and click Next >.
- Normally it is best to choose where Windows recommends.
10
Select what kind of setup you would like and click Next >
- For this tutorial, 'Typical' was chosen.
11
Type in your product key and click Next >
- The product key should have come with your Windows 95 setup disks.
12
Type in your name and click Next >.
- It's not essential to put a company in
13
If you have any of the hardware, click the check boxes which relate to your hardware and click Next >.
- For this tutorial, none of the check boxes were selected.
14
Choose whether you want to install the most common components for Windows or to choose the components yourself and click Next >
- For this tutorial, 'Install the most common components' was selected.
15
Choose whether you want to create a startup disk or not and click Next >
- The startup disk is a disk which can be inserted into your computer should Windows fail to boot and can then repair or reinstall Windows.
- For this tutorial 'No' was selected.
floppy disks as well as the installation disk and click Finish
20
Type in a Computer name and a Workgroup and click Close
- Computer description is not required.
23
Decide whether you want to install a printer.
- If so click Next > otherwise choose Cancel (Cancel was chosen in this tutorial).
Enjoy.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Shutting down

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option is checked and then click Yes.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Fixing "Windows protection error"

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If you see this error, chances are your processor is too fast to run Windows 95. Fortunately, there is a cure.

Firstly, got to http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/141402-windows-95-21ghz-cpu-limit-broken/
4
Right click the folder, and extract using the default Windows service by click Extract All... to a destination of your choosing.
- You can also use a 3rd party program such as 7-Zip.
5
Read the readme file so you can decide which file you need to use.
- For virtual machines either:
- Mount FIX95CPU.ISO to the virtual CD drive or
- Mount FIX95CPU.IMA to the virtual floppy disk drive
- If running on bare metal either:
- Burn FIX95CPU.ISO to a CD or
- Write FIX95CPU.EXE to a floppy disk
a CD), insert it into your computer and boot the computer and press any key to continue when confronted with the message shown in the picture.
7
Decide whether you want to read the readme by press Y for Yes or N for No.
- No was selected here as the readme is exactly the same as the one in the zip folder.
8
When confronted with this message, press any key to continue.
- This will begin to fix the processor issues.
9
Press any key to restart the computer and remove the 'CD' from the computer.
- If you don't remove the 'CD', it will begin an endless loop into this setup screen.

Community Q&A

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Question

I can't continue after the first reboot, there is an error saying "Invalid system disk". All my files and subdirectories are in 8.3 format (?). What am I doing wrong (FAT16?)?

Community Answer

Make sure the Windows disk is working. You may have to remove the disk(s).

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Tips

The installation process may be different if you have upgraded to Windows 95 from a previous operating system.

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Due to the age of the operating system, it is unlikely to support any new programs.

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Warnings

Unless the installation says otherwise, do not turn off your computer under any circumstances during installation. It could corrupt the process and require you to restart the entire installation.

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Since the operating system is unsupported, it is not advised that you go on the internet as you could be more at risk to viruses, etc.

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Things You'll Need

Windows 95 installation disk and product key
Blank Floppy disk (not required, unless you want a startup disk)
Computer with the following specifications:
Intel 80386DX CPU that runs at any speed
RAM: 8MB (while 4MB is the official recommendation, Windows 95 may not boot with that amount of RAM)
HDD: 55MB