Retro Potato: Longtime Microsoft software program engineer Raymond Chen lately responded to an intriguing retro-tech query posed by a sport developer on X. The developer inquired in regards to the three distinct person interfaces used through the Home windows 95 setup course of, which transitioned from DOS to Home windows 3.x, and eventually to the basic Win9x GUI. Chen explaining that it was a deliberate design alternative to reduce the quantity of code required for the Home windows 95 configuration expertise.
Skilled PC customers could also be properly conscious of the peculiar relationship between MS-DOS code and the GUI surroundings inside the Win9x ecosystem. Nevertheless, in line with Chen, the multi-OS assist constructed into the Home windows 95 setup program was way more refined than it would initially appear.
With over 30 years of expertise shaping the evolution of Home windows, Chen holds deep insights into the hidden intricacies of one of many world’s most generally used software program platforms. Writing The Previous New Factor weblog, he stated Home windows 95 setup was designed to improve methods from three potential beginning factors – MS-DOS, Home windows 3.1, and Home windows 95 itself. This necessity dictated the necessity for compatibility with three distinct computing environments.
The setup program was primarily written as an MS-DOS software however was designed to run on three totally different working methods to carry out distinct duties. The DOS portion was crucial when setup was launched from the MS-DOS immediate, as accessing the Win9x surroundings would have been not possible with out first putting in it on the onerous drive.
Additionally see: Who wrote the BSOD display? Former Home windows developer lastly has a solution
The MS-DOS setup element put in a minimal model of Home windows 3.1 – simply sufficient to assist the 16-bit portion of the setup instrument. After booting into this miniature Home windows 3.1 surroundings, the 16-bit GUI setup program would launch. This software may additionally run in a full Home windows 3.x surroundings and even inside an already put in Home windows 95 OS, enabling customers to restore a corrupted system if crucial.
The 16-bit Home windows software was the centerpiece of the method, Chen defined, because it dealt with nearly all of duties required for the “actual” Home windows 95 set up. This graphical interface managed person interplay, collected configuration knowledge, decided which OS parts to put in, and carried out {hardware} detection to pick the suitable drivers.
After copying the Home windows 95 information and drivers to the system, the 16-bit setup booted into the Win9x surroundings. The third and last setup stage concerned a real Win32 software, which finalized the set up by dealing with duties reminiscent of putting in printers and configuring different peripherals.
By chaining collectively these three setup applications, Microsoft was capable of streamline improvement by reusing a single codebase throughout all three major set up situations. “Every program takes you one step nearer to the aim. And the whole lot obtained applied solely as soon as,” the developer stated.
Retro Potato: Longtime Microsoft software program engineer Raymond Chen lately responded to an intriguing retro-tech query posed by a sport developer on X. The developer inquired in regards to the three distinct person interfaces used through the Home windows 95 setup course of, which transitioned from DOS to Home windows 3.x, and eventually to the basic Win9x GUI. Chen explaining that it was a deliberate design alternative to reduce the quantity of code required for the Home windows 95 configuration expertise.
Skilled PC customers could also be properly conscious of the peculiar relationship between MS-DOS code and the GUI surroundings inside the Win9x ecosystem. Nevertheless, in line with Chen, the multi-OS assist constructed into the Home windows 95 setup program was way more refined than it would initially appear.
With over 30 years of expertise shaping the evolution of Home windows, Chen holds deep insights into the hidden intricacies of one of many world’s most generally used software program platforms. Writing The Previous New Factor weblog, he stated Home windows 95 setup was designed to improve methods from three potential beginning factors – MS-DOS, Home windows 3.1, and Home windows 95 itself. This necessity dictated the necessity for compatibility with three distinct computing environments.
The setup program was primarily written as an MS-DOS software however was designed to run on three totally different working methods to carry out distinct duties. The DOS portion was crucial when setup was launched from the MS-DOS immediate, as accessing the Win9x surroundings would have been not possible with out first putting in it on the onerous drive.
Additionally see: Who wrote the BSOD display? Former Home windows developer lastly has a solution
The MS-DOS setup element put in a minimal model of Home windows 3.1 – simply sufficient to assist the 16-bit portion of the setup instrument. After booting into this miniature Home windows 3.1 surroundings, the 16-bit GUI setup program would launch. This software may additionally run in a full Home windows 3.x surroundings and even inside an already put in Home windows 95 OS, enabling customers to restore a corrupted system if crucial.
The 16-bit Home windows software was the centerpiece of the method, Chen defined, because it dealt with nearly all of duties required for the “actual” Home windows 95 set up. This graphical interface managed person interplay, collected configuration knowledge, decided which OS parts to put in, and carried out {hardware} detection to pick the suitable drivers.
After copying the Home windows 95 information and drivers to the system, the 16-bit setup booted into the Win9x surroundings. The third and last setup stage concerned a real Win32 software, which finalized the set up by dealing with duties reminiscent of putting in printers and configuring different peripherals.
By chaining collectively these three setup applications, Microsoft was capable of streamline improvement by reusing a single codebase throughout all three major set up situations. “Every program takes you one step nearer to the aim. And the whole lot obtained applied solely as soon as,” the developer stated.
