China DOS Union

### Exploring the Contents of the Windows Me CD


Although the release of Windows Millennium Edition did not arouse as much excitement as the launch of Windows 2000, relevant parties predict that this upgrade product aimed at personal computers is very likely to quickly outperform Windows 2000 when it goes on formal sale in September. If, fortunately, you are one of the buyers and are eager to know what exactly is in the Millennium Edition that Microsoft has brought all the way, don't worry. Let's explore it together. This is an exclusive first report on the contents of the Windows Millennium Edition CD.

The CD I received at the end of June this year is an evaluation preview version, similar to the technical Beta version of other optical discs. Even so, there is no difference in content compared with the retail version. However, it is worth noting that Windows Millennium Edition, unlike the 2000 version, does not have floppy disks.

The root directory of the Windows Millennium Edition CD includes the following subdirectories and files:

\add-ons – Includes introductory files, network printing protocol support files, Microsoft backup files, and terminal services clients.

\autorun – Includes all files that are automatically executed when the CD is inserted.

\cdsample – Includes interactive sample files of Microsoft products

\drivers – Includes DVD drivers, ISDN device drivers, MODEM drivers, NETGEAR network product drivers, and FLASH storage device drivers.

\tools – Includes some old MS-DOS tools and a large number of Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) tools, such as bug reporting tools for DOS and Windows.

\win9x – Includes the Windows Millennium Edition installation files.

autorun.inf – Makes the SETUP.EXE file automatically execute when the Windows Millennium Edition CD is inserted into the optical drive.

readme.txt – A short text file used to indicate other important text files on the CD.

setup.exe – An icon-type installation file (\win9x\setup.exe), which can only be executed under Windows.

setuptip.txt - Windows Millennium Edition supplement information file.

Next, let's take a look at each subdirectory:

\add-ons

\Document – Includes various introductory files, such as Read Me files, quick start guides, and hard disk text file packages, which explain various reasons why Windows Millennium Edition cannot be installed normally.

\IPP – Includes network printing protocol (IPP) files, which allow the Millennium Edition system to connect to the Windows 2000 version network for network printing.

\MSBackup – Includes various backup files of Microsoft. Without it, you will not be able to enter Windows Millennium Edition (that is, Microsoft will refuse your installation in Add/Remove Programs for some reason).

\Tsclient – Includes support files for various compatible users of Windows Millennium Edition.

\autorun – Includes autorun.exe and win9xcd.ico files, the latter is an autorun support file.

\cdsample

sampler.exe – This file is used to install or execute CD sample files. Of course, it also needs a large number of other supporting files and folders.

\drivers

\dvd – Includes Cinemaster 1.2 DVD decoder driver.

\isdn – Includes Eicon Diva ISDN device driver.

\Modem – Includes MWAVE modem drivers for IBM ThinkPad 600, 600E, 770X and 770Z.

\net – Includes drivers for Netgear FA310TX network interface card (NIC).

\Storage – Includes the driver of TrueFFS-9x, which is the latest version of the TrueFFS Flash file system, which is applied to Intel, AMD, Fujitsu, M-Systems and compatible Linear Flash cards.

\tools

\oldmsdos – Includes old MS-DOS tool files, such as MS-DOS help file (help.com), Microsoft diagnostic file (msd.exe), and Qbasic.

\pssutils – Includes a large number of Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) files, which include:

\mediatst – Three media files for testing the sound playback function.

acpihct.exe – ACPI hardware compatibility test file (HCT), requiring an ACPI-compatible computer.

cdinfo.exe – Used to restore information of the optical disc driver.

DOSREP.EXE - MS-DOS reporting tool, used to create and submit bug reports. The report includes information about your computer system settings and computer files.

ipac_off.inf, ipac_on.inf – Activate or eliminate the TCP/IP automatic configuration function.

irdasir.reg – Registration file, used to start the installation function of the external infrared device.

nnt.inf – Delete the NAMENUMERICALTAIL value from the registry, which controls the function of creating short file names.

pssutil.txt – A Read Me file used to explain the numerous tool files in this folder.

ptxt_on.inf, ptxt_off.inf – Determine whether the password is transmitted to the network server in the default value state.

readme.txt – Read Me file for acpihct.exe.

remfdma.inf, addfdma.inf - Activate or eliminate the FDMA function on the PCI-ISA bridge device.

winrep.exe – Windows reporting file tool, used to create and submit bug reports. The report includes information about your computer system settings and computer files.

wmremove.inf – Used to fix problems with specific types of Winmodems after upgrading to Windows Millennium Edition.

\ols – Includes installation files for America Online (AOL 5.0) and AT&T network services.

cleanhd.txt – Text file, guiding how to install Windows Millennium Edition on an empty hard disk.

intl.txt - Read Me file, for computer settings in the pan-European region.

oemsetup.exe – Installation program provided to personal computer manufacturers, not for end users.

setup.exe - Windows Millennium Edition installation program, which can be run in Windows 9x or MS-DOS.

setup.txt – Text file, recording general installation problems, as well as MS-DOS installation, root directory cleaning, and other installation-related problems.

winme.wmv - Media playback file executed after the initial installation of Windows Millennium Edition is completed.

Compared with the Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE CD versions, Windows Millennium Edition seems to be insufficient in many places, which is very confusing. For example, Windows Millennium Edition will not come with a special resource toolkit, so there are no RK files on the CD. Like the Windows 98 SE version, Windows Millennium Edition does not contain the copied file of the TweakUI program, which is very important. But fortunately, Microsoft will soon place the corresponding tool files on its website.

It's a pity that there are more people choosing Windows 98 than Windows ME. Here, Windows ME is probably far less popular than Windows 98. I'm using Windows ME now and I'm also an advocate of Windows ME. (Now I rarely use Windows 98, only the MSDOS 710 it provides) It's gratifying that I saw the first article explaining Windows ME here.

I always feel that there is only one function of WinME that is a bit useful compared with Win98, which is the direct browsing function of ZIP files. The others are all worse. MS-DOS 8.0 is not as easy to use as MS-DOS 7.10, except for supporting large hard drives above 60G.

In fact, WINME also has many advantages, such as support for most hardware, better multimedia functions, system restore functions, etc. Sometimes when installing a USB flash drive or other hardware, I still find WINME convenient.