ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒ LAUNCHING GEOWORKS FROM WITHIN WINDOWS 95 by Charles Orlando Smith at Charlie@pbfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us --- November 8, 1995 --- ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒ To read this document (Geowin95.txt), use Windows Notepad with word wrap turned on. This document can also be read by most generic ASCII text file viewers set for 80 columns. Before proceeding, please read the disclaimer located at the very end of this document. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PROBLEM: GeoWorks Ensemble will not launch properly from inside of Windows 95. Attempts to launch Ensemble results in an error message stating that no valid userdate/fonts could be found. The SOLUTION: Create custom config.sys and autoexec.bat files that Windows 95 can use to launch Ensemble in MS-DOS mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before, you start, I must make a few assumptions concering your computer's setup. I am assuming that: 1. You are using some version of GeoWorks Ensemble. 2. You have correctly installed Windows 95. 3. You have not deleted any relevant DOS commands. 4. You have not deleted the mouse driver that your version of Ensemble normally uses. 5. You have bravery that it takes to modify Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files... Note: The information that you will be required to type can be either lower-cased or upper-cased -- the modifications are not case-sensitive so don't worry about it! LET'S GET STARTED! Well, after piddling with Windows 95's "setver" command for several days, I have finally figured out how to launch GeoWorks Ensemble from WITHIN Windows 95. You'll need to use Windows 95's ability to provide non-Windows programs with their own specific autoexec.bat and config.sys bootup files. The MS-DOS "setver" command is absolutely critical to getting GeoWorks to run from within Win95. If you follow the advice I give here, you must realize that when you launch GeoWorks from within Win95, you will need to save any work you have in Win95 prior to launching GeoWorks. Why? Well, when Win95 launches GeoWorks, it automatically reboots your computer in "MS-DOS mode." In doing so, Win95 effectively shuts itself down in order to launch GeoWorks -- so be sure to save your Win95 work BEFORE launching a GeoWorks session from within Win95; otherwise, that work will be lost. Don't worry too much though: by default, Windows 95 warns you before it launches a program via MS-DOS mode -- so you'll always have a chance to save your work prior to the launching GeoWorks. Okay, okay -- I'll get on with it. To create a launch profile for GeoWorks, you will need to know the location of: A) your mouse's ".sys" device driver or your mouse's ".com" executable file and, B) the location of GeoWorks' "loader.exe" file. Why do you need to know these two things? Well, if you don't tell Windows 95 the location of GeoWorks mouse driver, you will not have the use of your mouse when you launch GeoWorks from within Windows 95. The "loader.exe" file is the program that actually launches GeoWorks -- if you can't find that program, well, you may as well just stop reading right here! If you already know the name and location of your mouse driver and loader.exe, you can skip sections 1 and 2 and go directly to section 3. If you don't know the location of your mouse driver or of "loader.exe", start here. SECTION 1: FINDING YOUR MOUSE DRIVER For most of us, our mouse driver is located either in our computer's root directory (a.k.a. "C:\) or it is located in a subdirectory call "Mouse." Most of the time our mouse driver is called "mouse.sys," "mouse.com," "smouse.com" or "smouse.sys". If you are unsure of where your mouse driver or your mouse's ".com" file is located, you can use Windows 95 search feature to locate it. To locate your mouse driver, launch Windows 95's Explorer. From within Explorer, choose "Tools." Then choose "Find." Next, click "Files or Folders." A window will open that allows you to search for particular files or folders. In that window's "Named" box, type "mouse.*" Now, in the "Look In" box make sure that you put the letter of the drive that most likely contains your mouse driver. For instance, if you have only one hard drive, it almost certainly is designated as "C" drive -- and it will, in all likelihood, contain your mouse files. So, in the "Named" box, you should type "mouse.*". In your "Look In" box, you should type "C:" -- but, in either case, don't type in the quotation marks. Okay, once you have those two pieces of data (the "search criteria") in their respective boxes, click the "Find Now" button. Windows 95 will now start searching your drive for your mouse files. If Windows finds your mouse driver, another window will open up below the window that contains your search criteria. This new window will list all the files containing "mouse" in their name. Look for the file called "mouse.sys". If you find it, write down its folder and add "mouse.sys" to the end of the folder. For instance, if your mouse file was found in the "C:\MOUSE" folder, you would jot down "C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.SYS" (remember, don't include the quotation marks). This is a key piece of information as it will used a little later on. Your mouse driver may also be called "mouse.com". If so, once you have located it, jot down its folder followed by its name just as we did for the above "mouse.sys" example. If your search reveals that you have one mouse driver that ends with a ".SYS" and one another mouse driver that ends with a ".EXE" extension, choose one that has a ".SYS" extension and jot down ITS information instead of that for the ".EXE" mouse driver. If you have successfully found the location (folder) and the name of your mouse driver (and jotted it all down), go directly to section 2 at this point. If you have NOT found your mouse driver using the above search technique, try searching with "SMOUSE.*". If that doesn't work, your mouse driver may have been accidentally deleted from you hard drive. If that appears to be the case, reload your mouse driver from your mouse installation floppy disks. If you can't find your installation disks, you can visit a local computer shop ask the shop if they can provide you with a generic mouse driver. More often than not, a computer repair shop will be happy to provide you with a generic mouse driver at no cost (but be sure to bring a blank floppy disk so they can copy the driver to it!) If all else fails, you can contact the manufacturer of your mouse and ask their technical support staff for the name of your model's particular mouse driver -- then either order the driver from the manufacturer or once again search your hard disk for the mouse driver name that they have provided. SECTION 2: FINDING LOADER.EXE Okay, assuming that you have done the above -- that is, located the folder containing your mouse file and jotted down its location and so forth, we can move to the next step. You now need to locate the "loader.exe" file. To find loader.exe, follow the exact same steps we used in section 1 ("Finding your mouse driver") -- however, instead of typing "mouse.*" in the "Named" box, type "loader.exe". Then, click the "Find Now" button. In all likelihood, your search will find "loader.exe" in your C:\GEOS directory. There is also a possiblity that "loader.exe" will be found in either C:\GEOS20 or in C:\GEOWORKS, depending on just where your GeoWorks executable files are located. Jot down the name of the folder in which Windows 95 found "loader.exe". Once you have found "loader.exe", and jotted down its folder, go to section 3. SECTION 3: USING YOUR MOUSE DRIVER AND LOADER.EXE TO MODIFY WINDOWS 95 FOR LAUNCHING GEOWORKS Assuming that you have jotted down the locations of your mouse driver and of loader.exe, we can now proceed with our efforts to create an MS-DOS launch profile for GeoWorks. Fortunately, Windows 95 has already done much of the work for us. First, make your way to Windows 95's Explorer. Click the Explorer icon to open up Explorer. Now, go to the folder that contains loader.exe (as I mentioned in Section 2, it is most likely in a folder called "GEOS". If not, then you've probably already found it in a folder called either "GEOS20" or "GEOWORKS"). Click the folder that contains "loader.exe". The right side of your screen will open up to reveal the contents of the folder you just clicked open. Using the scroll bar on the right side of the screen, find the file named "loader.exe". Move your mouse cursor to "loader.exe" and, by pressing your RIGHT mouse button, perform ONE mouse click -- do not double-click the mouse. A menu will pop up after you have right-clicked your mouse. From this menu, click "Properties." Another window will open: this window is called "Loader.exe Properties." At the top of this latest window, you will find a tab that says "Program." Click that tab. Now, you should be in the "Program" window. Toward the bottom of the "Program" window is a button marked "Advanced." Click that button. You should now be in a window titled "Advanced Program Settings." Okay, here is where we must type in the new information that Windows 95 needs for successful launches of GeoWorks. Before we start typing anything, we need to make sure that a couple of boxes in the "Advanced Program Settings" window are properly checked. If they do not already have check marks in them, use your mouse to place checks marks in the boxes called "MS-DOS mode" and "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode." Now, click the "Specify a new MS-DOS configuration" option: after clicking it, this option should now have a small dot indicating that you have activated it. At this point, we need to make a simple choice: if your mouse driver ended with a ".SYS" extension (as with "MOUSE.SYS" for instance), go to section 3A. If your mouse driver ended with a ".COM" extension (as with MOUSE.COM), go to section 3B. SECTION 3A: IF YOUR MOUSE DRIVER ENDS WITH ".SYS": Okay, if you have followed the directions so far, you should be in the "Advanced Program Settings" window. Now, find the caption that says "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode." Below that caption is a box that contains the rather cryptic information that Windows will use to bootup your GeoWorks program. However, that box is missing a key piece of information that we must provide: namely, the location of your mouse driver. Using the down arrow on scroll bar located at the left of that box, click the scroll bar's down arrow so that you can see the last line of information in the "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" box. Don't be intimidated by all the obscure information in that box -- we are not going to alter any of it. Rather, we are just going to add one brief line of extra information at the end of it. To add this new information, move your mouse cursor to the blank line just BELOW the last line of information in the "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" box. Click your left mouse button -- you should see a cursor on that blank line in the box. On that line, type "Device=" followed by the location and name of your mouse driver. If, for instance, your mouse driver is called "MOUSE.SYS", and you found it in the folder called "C:\MOUSE", type "Device=C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.SYS" (remember, don't include the quotation marks). When you have typed in the needed line, your "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" informatio should look something like this: DOS=HIGH,UMB Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys Device=c:\mouse\mouse.sys If your folder and/or mouse driver have different names than those in the example, be sure to put THAT information on the last line instead of what is shown in the above example. If you have completed typing in the necessary information, go to section 4. SECTION 3B: IF YOUR MOUSE DRIVER ENDS WITH ".COM": In the "Advanced Program Settings" window, find the caption that says "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode." Using the down arrow on the scroll bar located to the right of the box containing the Autoexec.bat information, scroll down until you can see some blank lines that follow the last line of information in that box. Don't be worried about all of the hard-to-understand information in the "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box. We will not alter any of that existing information. Instead, all we are going to do is add on simple and brief line of information to the end of it. At this point, move your mouse cursor to the blank line directly below the last line of information in the "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box and click your mouse cursor once. You should now see a blinking cursor on the blank line. On that line, type the folder (also known as the "path") of your mouse driver. For instance, if your mouse driver is located in the "C:\MOUSE" folder and the name of your mouse driver is "MOUSE.COM", type "C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM" on the blank line. After you have typed in your mouse-related information, your "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" information may look something like this: SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET PROMPT=$p$g SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM The key point is to all of this is that your "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box must have the correct mouse driver information on its last line. Be sure that you have indeed put the correct folder and mouse driver name on that line! We must now need to add one more line AFTER the information you just typed in. So, once you have typed in the needed mouse-related information on the last line in your "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box, go to section 4. SECTION 4: ADDING THE "SETVER" COMMAND TO AUTOEXEC.BAT If you are not already in the "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box, locate it now and, using the scroll bars, find the next available blank line within that box. Place your mouse cursor on that blank line and click it once. Now, on that blank line, type "SETVER" (don't include quotation marks). Your "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" information should look something like this: SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET PROMPT=$p$g SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 SETVER >>>>>>> Note: If your mouse driver ended with ".com", you should have already placed a line of information in the "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box that indicates your mouse driver's folder and name (see section 3B). If your mouse driver ended with ".sys" then your "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" should already have been modified to contain your mouse driver's folder and name (see section 3A). If, in section 3B, you added a line of mouse driver information to your "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" box, then the "SETVER" command should be entered on the line after that information. Also note that "SETVER" can be profiled to run a specific version of DOS: if you need more information on the "SETVER" command, please consult your MS-DOS manual. Let us continue. Now, move your mouse cursor to the "OK" button in the Advanced Program Settings" window and click it. If you have correctly added the necessary above-mentioned information to your "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" and "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" boxes, you are just about ready to run GeoWorks from inside of Windows. The way to test whether or not you have entered the correct information is to go back to Explorer, find the folder that contains "loader.exe" and double-click "loader.exe". If Windows 95 shuts down and automatically launches GeoWorks properly, you've done it! If GeoWorks does not run properly, you have may have done one of the following: 1. Mis-identified the folder or folders containing your mouse driver or... 2. Created one or more typos while entering in the needed information in either the "Config.sys for MS-DOS mode" or the "Autoexec.bat for MS-DOS mode" boxes. If GeoWorks does not run properly, don't panic! All you've done is mistyped some information. Windows 95 will not be effected by any typos or incorrect information that you may have made in modifying any of the above-mentioned files. However, to get GeoWorks to launch properly from within Windows 95, you'll need to go back and trace the steps you took according to the instructions that I have provided. Once you find the error or errors, correct them and once again try running GeoWorks from within Windows 95. A NICE EXTRA TOUCH: ADDING A SHORTCUT ICON FOR LAUNCHING GEOWORKS FROM WITHIN WINDOWS 95: Once you get GeoWorks to run, the final touch is to create a Windows 95 "shortcut" icon for GeoWorks. Once you have created that icon, you can place it on your Windows 95 desktop and launch GeoWorks with a mouse click. To create a shortcut icon, use Explorer to find "loader.exe" again and right-click "loader. exe" once with your mouse button. From the menu that pops up, choose "shortcut." Windows will then create an icon for GeoWorks that you can literally drag (or cut and paste) from Explorer to your Windows 95 desktop. To find the shortcut icon you just made, browse the directory containing "loader.exe" -- you will find a file called "Loader". It will NOT have a ".exe" extension. Further, Explorer will list it as a file type called "Shortcut to MS-DOS..." or something to that effect. The easiest way to place the icon on your desktop is to highlight it with a mouse click, choose "copy" from the menu that pops up, then close down Explorer and make your way to the Windows 95 desktop. At the desktop, find an empty area on it, right-click your mouse and choose "paste" from the menu that pops up. And there you have it -- GeoWorks on your desktop! AN ALTERNATIVE: LAUNCHING GEOWORKS AT BOOTUP If you would like a quick, cheap and dirty way to launch GEOWORKS during Windows 95's bootup sequence, just do the following: 1. During bootup, when the "Launching Windows 95" statement appears on your monitor's screen, press the F8 key on your keyboard. You'll need to be quick as the "Launching Windows 95" statement lasts for only a second or two on most computers. 2. A menu will appear with seven options. Choose option 7, it allows you to continue booting by using your previous (pre-Windows 95) version of MS-DOS. 3. You should now find yourself at your good old "C:" prompt. At this point, use the DOS "cd" command to change to your GeoWorks directory (or folder) and then type "loader.exe" (no quotation marks). GeoWorks should now pop up and run just as it did before you loaded Windows 95 on to your system! Pretty neat, huh? If you choose to launch GeoWorks according to steps one through three mentioned just above, you will need to reboot you computer to start Windows 95. Windows 95 cannot be launched from within GeoWorks -- well, at least I haven't figured out how to do it. Win95 also cannot be launched by any version of MS-DOS prior to MS-DOS Version 7.0 (which, by the way, is built into Windows 95). I hope that this information helps you to use GeoWorks from within Windows 95. If you find any other ways to launch GeoWorks from Win95, by all means place your findings on the GEOS BBS at 1-408-281-7084! Also, be sure to put any new GEOS tips, shortcuts or news on your local bulletin board systems. Remember, we GeoWorks users need to stick together to keep our wonderful little operating system operating! Best wishes, Charlie Orlando Smith West Palm Beach, FL --------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This document is not a product of Berkeley Software or of the GEOS BBS. GEOS, GEOWORKS, and ENSEMBLE are all copyrighted names owned by Berkeley Software. Any "for profit" use of those copyrighted names may result in criminal prosecution. The information provided in this document is to be used at the reader's own risk. The author cannot be held responsible for any data loss or any computer software or hardware operations that may result from the alterations recommended in this document. Okay, now that you've read this, you can get on with your life... ----- END OF GEOWIN95.TXT -----