How to install Windows 95

How to install Windows 95 (OSR 2.5) using the 86Box emulator.

Introduction

Today we are going to be installing Windows 95 in the 86box emulator.
We will be using the OSR 2.5 edition, since it has better hardware support, has better support for MMX, and contains the latest juicy bloatware (IE 4.0). Let’s go over the requirements first.

Requirements

• 86box[github.com]
  
• 86box Roms[github.com]
  
• 86box Manager[github.com]
  
• Windows 98 SE Boot Disk (.img) (Floppy for booting, do NOT use the 95 one as it does not have CD drivers. Can be easily found online)
  
• Windows 95 OSR 2.5 (.iso) (Can be easily found online)

Setting up 86box

First, we have to download 86box. 86box is an emulator for older x86 systems (8086-Pentium).
We can install 86box as follows:

1. Create a new folder anywhere, this folder will contain all the files needed to run 86box.
   
2. Download 86box. While the GitHub page contains a download for a stable version, it's from 2019 and missing newer features. I recommend downloading the latest "Regular" build directly from the 86box Jenkins here[ci.86box.net].
   
3. Download and open the zip file (named 86box-32-xxxx.zip) and drag all the files into the folder you just created.

Your folder should now look like this:
Next, we're going to need the ROM pack, the ROM files are necessary to emulate all the hardware.

1. Download the ROM pack from here[github.com]. Just find the latest release, click on "Assets", and click on "Source code (zip)". (You don't need to compile anything, don't worry.)
   
2. Open the zip file and drag the "roms-20XXXXXX" folder to the folder we've created earlier.
   
3. Now rename this folder to "roms".

Your folders should now look like this:
The last component we need, is the 86box Manager application, this will allow us to easily set up multiple virtual machines.

1. Download the latest version from here[github.com]. Find the latest version, click on "Assets", and click on "86BoxManager_X.X.X.zip".
   
2. Open the zip file and drag "86Manager.exe" to the folder we created.
   
3. Open 86Manager, you will probably receive an error. For now click "ok" and then click "Settings".
   
4. We need to change the "86Box path", click "Browse..." and point to the folder we created.
   
5. Click "Apply".

Your settings dialog should look something like this:
As long as the version says "supported", you are good to go.
You can optionally change the VM path if you want to save the virtual machines at a different location.

Creating the virtual machine

The next step is to create the virtual machine.

1. Open 86Box Manager and click "Add".
   
2. Name the virtual machine anything you want, and select "Configure this virtual machine now".
   
3. Click "Add".

Next we will configure each tab in the settings window.

Machine

Windows 95 requires at minimum a 486 processor. However, we will be using a Pentium MMX for better performance. There are a ton of different machines you can choose from, and most of them will get the job done. The biggest difference is usually the BIOS, and hardware support. I recommend using the following settings:

• Machine type: Socket 7 (Dual Voltage)
  
• Machine: i430VX ASUS P/I-P55TVP4 (The BIOS in ASUS boards is good).
  
• CPU type: Intel Pentium MMX 166 (If your VM starts lagging, try downgrading the CPU. You can use a regular Pentium CPU which starts at 75 speed).
  
• RAM: 64 MB (This is way more than we'll need).

Protip:
When our VM is up and running, the emulation speed is shown in the titlebar. If your emulation speed consistently drops below 100%, you should probably downgrade your CPU!

Display

For our video card we will be using the Phoenix S3 Trio64 (PCI).

Input devices

For mouse, select "Standard PS/2 Mouse".

Sound

For our sound card, select the Sound Blaster AWE32 (ISA16). Next click "Configure".

Important: While you do not need to change anything here, note down the IRQ and the Low and High DMA channels. We will need to configure these in the BIOS later.

For "MIDI Out Device", simply select "System MIDI".

Network

For "Network type", always select "SLiRP".
I've had success with multiple network cards. For now we will use the AMD PCnet-PCI II adapter. If you have any issues (or are on 86box stable) you can also try the Novell NE2000 card.

Ports

Nothing to configure.

Storage controllers

All you have to do here is set the HD Controller to "Internal controller".

Hard disks

We need to create a virtual hard disk to store all our data. First, select "New...".
Simply select the "Size" field and type "1024". This will give us 1 GB of data.
Now click on "Specify..." next to the file name and select a location to save the virtual hard drive.
Click "OK" to create the hard disk.

Note: If you choose to go higher than 1 GB, be aware that fdisk can only create partitions up to 2 GB.

Floppy & CD-ROM drives

1. Select the first floppy drive and change it's type to 3.5" 1.44M.
   
2. Select the first CD-ROM drive, set the bus to ATAPI, channel to 1:0 and speed to 52x.

Other removable devices

Nothing to configure.

Other peripherals

Nothing to configure.

Finalizing

Simply click "OK" to save the configuration.

Configuring the BIOS

Important: Your BIOS may look differently if you selected a different machine/machine type and might not support all hardware/options. For best results, use the same machine as me.

It's time start our new virtual machine! Select your VM and click "Start".

The BIOS will give us an error, this is normal. Simply hit DEL to enter setup.

Controls

In the AWARD BIOS, you can use the following controls:

• Arrow keys: Select something.
  
• ESC: Quit/previous menu.
  
• F10: Save & Exit (only on main menu).
  
• Page Up/Page Down: Change the selected setting.

Basic setup

Select "STANDARD CMOS SETUP".

There are a couple of things we want to change here.
First of all, we will leave "Primary Master" and "Secondary Master" on "Auto".
Change "Primary Slave" and "Secondary Slave" to "None" by selecting them and using the Page Up/Down keys.

Drive A should be set to 1.44M 3.5 in.
Drive B should be set to 360K 5.25 in.

Video should be set to EGA/VGA.

Bios Features

Hit ESC to return to the main menu, select "BIOS FEATURES SETUP".
Change the Boot Sequence to "A,CDROM,C" (floppy > cdrom> hd).

Sound Card

Hit ESC again and select "PNP AND PCI SETUP".
Here we need to configure the IRQ and DMA for the sound card which we wrote down earlier.

The default values are as follows:

IRQ 5
Low DMA 1
High DMA 3

Simply hover over the required IRQ and DMAs, and set them to "Yes".

Finalizing

Hit ESC again and press F10 to Save & Exit.

Preparing the disk

After rebooting, you may notice that the system fails to boot. This is because we have to insert the install media.

First we have to insert a bootable floppy with fdisk and CD support, I strongly recommend searching for "Windows 98 SE Boot Disk" as the 95 one does NOT have CD drivers.

Now go to "Media > Floppy 1 > Existing Image" and select your .img file.
Next go to "Media > CD-ROM 1 > Image" and select the Windows 95 OSR 2.5 .iso file.

You can also use a Windows 95 RTM image, but older versions of WIndows 95 have bugs with MMX processors.

After inserting the floppy and the CD, hit enter.
You will be greated with the "Windows 98 Startup Menu".
Simply select "Start computer with CD-ROM support" and hit enter.

Partitioning

Once we are in MS-DOS, type "fdisk" and hit enter.
We can use fdisk to create a partition on our hard drive.

1. Select "Y" to enable large disk support.
   
2. Select 1 to create a DOS partition.
   
3. Select 1 again to create a primary partition.
   
4. Select Y.
   
5. Press ESC.

Now click Action > Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart your vm.

Formatting

Upon reboot, select "Start computer with CD-ROM support."

Now the first thing we want to do is take note of the MSCDEX output. This will show us the drive letter of our CD drive. In my case it's D, but I've also seen cases where it was R.


While we partitioned our disk, we still need to format our drive.
To do this type "D:" (or whatever your CD drive letter is) and then "cd win95".
Now type "format C:" and select "Y". You can leave the volume label empty.

Preparing for setup

First, we need to go back to our C: drive, simply type "C:".
Now we need to create a directory, type "mkdir setup" to create a directory called setup.

This step is important, because Windows 95 often can't find the CD during setup, so it will be unable to find important files. To fix this, we will copy over some files from the CD to our hard disk.

Return to the CD drive by typing "D:" (or whatever your drive letter is).
If you are not in the win95 directory, type "cd win95".

Now type "copy *.* C:\setup" to copy over the necessary files.


After the copying is finished type "cd .." to return to the root of your CD drive.

Installing Windows 95

If you've reached this step, congratulations! The hard part is over.
To start setup simply type "setup".

Press enter and let it run the checks.

We finally reached the setup! Click "Continue".

Carefully read the entire license agreement, and click Yes.


Now simply click next, when it asks you to pick a directory just go with the default (C:\WINDOWS).
Click next again and you are greeted with the setup options.


To keep things easy just select "Typical" to install a basic configuration. You can also choose "Custom" if you want to manually specify which components to install.

Next, Windows will ask you for a product key. Simply enter the following and click next:
24796-OEM-0014736-66386
If they key doesn't work, try finding a different one online.


Enter your name and optionally, company name.
On the next screen, select "Yes" to scan for hardware devices.
This will automatically detect some of our hardware, such as the graphics card.


Make sure to check both "Network Adapter" and "Sound, MIDI, or VIdeo Capture Card'.


On the next screen, we need to configure our network.

1. Click "Add".
   
2. Select "Adapter".
   
3. Select "Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)"
   
4. Select "AMD PCNET Family Ethernet Adapter (PCI&ISA)
   
5. Select "OK"

Next, select Add > Protocol > Add > Microsoft and add the TCP/IP protocol.


Give your computer a name...


On the computer settings screen, just click "Next".
On the startup disk screen, select "No" and click "Next."

We can now ACTUALLY install Windows 95!

Finalizing

Select "Media > Floppy 1 > Eject" so the system doesn't reboot into the floppy.
Click "Finish"!


On reboot, enter a username. You can also set a password if you want to.


You will receive the following error:


This is because setup can't find the CD drive.
We need to point it to the files we copied earlier.
Simply click "OK" and type "C:\setup" in the dialog. Click "OK" again.


After this setup will ask you to select your timezone.
Simply select your timezone from the dropdown.

If setup asks you to install a printer, select "Cancel".

One reboot later, and Windows 95 is fully installed!

If you get a "setup needs more information" prompt, just click next, select your country, and click next again. This will install Internet Explorer 4.0 (though it won't be very useful).

Post installation

There are still a few things we need to do.
First we want to undo the damage done by installing IE 4.0.

Internet

For me, internet access worked after install, but broke after installing IE 4.0.
To fix this, click "Internet Explorer" on the desktop. This will open the Internet Connection Wizard.
Click "Next" and select the LAN option.


Click "Next" and select "Connect using my local are network (LAN)".


Next, simply answer "No" to every question.

If you setup the card correctly during setup, internet should work now.
Try going to www.google.com, this website still works on IE4.


Next, you can watch the "Kid's guide to the internet" to learn about these strange foreign concepts, such as "e-mail" and "yahoo".

Active Desktop

If you've installed IE 4.0, the first thing Windows will do is shove Active Desktop down your throat.

To fix this, right click on the desktop and select "Properties".
Select the "Web" tab and uncheck "View my Active Desktop as a web page".
Click "Apply".
Important: Answer "No" to the wallpaper question.

Video setup

Right click on the desktop and select "Settings".
Set "Color palette" to True Color (32-Bit).
You can set the resolution to anything you want. Keep in mind that increasing the resolution may decrease performance.
Click "Apply".


If Windows asks you to specify a monitor, just click "No".
When clicking apply just select "apply without restart".

You're done

No really, you are done.

The End

If you enjoyed this guide, feel free to leave an award (or not).
If you disliked this guide, you wasted your time :)

Bonus: Install Microsoft Plus!

Requires the "Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95" .iso file.

Click on "Media > CD-ROM 1 > Image" and select the Microsoft Plus 95 iso file.


We can now setup Microsoft Plus.
Enter your name and organization on the next screen.

When asked for a product key, just enter all 1's. This is a valid product key for Plus! 95.


When asked to pick between typical and custom, pick custom and enable all the goodies.


Aaaand we get this crap again.


Insert your CD if needed and allow it to copy over all the files.

Installation is done, and we can now set a theme!
You can always change your theme in the control panel.


Restart the vm when asked. The boot logo will now display the Plus! logo.

Screensavers

Right click on the desktop and select "Properties". You can now head over to the screensaver tab and see the Microsoft Plus! screensavers.

3D Pinball

Plus! also installs 3D Pinball as seen in Windows XP!
It's in Start > Programs > Accessories > Games.

[Heckin' computer]

Glorious guide

[Dustin]

5*