Windows Files and Commands

Windows Files and Commands

Well, some of these files can be classified as DOS files as well, but if you see them on the OS Technologies exam, they will be in a Windows context. The files you should remember are

l COMMAND.COM: This is the command processor for DOS and Windows 9 x. It displays the DOS prompt and processes the commands typed at the command prompt.

l HIMEM.SYS: This is the device driver for extended and high memory. If it is not loaded during startup, Windows 9 x displays an error message and boots to a command prompt.

l IO.SYS: This binary executable file is loaded during the boot sequence. This file contains many of the commands and actions that were previously run from the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in DOS and Windows 3 .x.

l MSDOS.SYS: This text file contains a number of startup and configuration variables and settings, including the BootMulti and BootMenu parameters used to indicate a system with multiple operating systems.

l REG.DAT: This is the Registry file used with Windows 3 .x systems.

l SYSTEM.DAT: With USER.DAT, this is one of the two files in the Registry for a Windows 98 and NT/2000 system. The Registry is a database of configuration data about a PC's hardware and operating environment. The Registry actually has two files: USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT.

Many of the entries formerly in the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files of Windows 3.1 are now in the Registry.

l SYSTEM.INI: This system initialization file describes a PC's system environment, including device drivers, how DOS applications are executed, and internal Windows settings.

l USER.DAT: With the SYSTEM.DAT file, this is one of two files in the Registry for a Windows 9 x and NT/2000 system.

l VMM32.VXD: This file is created during the Windows 9 x setup. It includes all virtual device drivers (VXDs) required by the system. It is much faster at startup to load this one large VXD file than each of the individual drivers.

l WIN.INI: INI files are initialization files that describe or define the Windows environment. The WIN.INI file contains entries that tell Windows which programs to load and run and defines the screen, keyboard, mouse, display, and fonts. This file is read by the Windows operating system during startup.