Description of the Windows 95 and Windows 98 Setup Switches


Article ID: Q186111

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 95

SUMMARY

This article describes switches you can use with the Setup program in Windows 95 and Windows 98. Note that some of the switches can be used with both Windows 95 and Windows 98, and some can be used only with Windows 98.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows 98 Only
/m This switch bypasses the playing of the Setup sound (.wav) files.
/na This switch bypasses the program check and can use the following values:
  • 0 = Default
  • 1 = No Windows-based program check, MS-DOS-based programs are blocked.
  • 2 = No MS-DOS-based program check, Windows-based programs are blocked.
  • 3 = No Windows-based or MS-DOS-based program check.
/nd This switch ignores the presence of a Migration.dll file and is used to force Windows 98 to overwrite newer files.
  • NOTE: Files that use the ",,,32" flag in the .inf file still force Windows 98 Setup to keep the newer files. See Note#1 for additional info.
/nf Do not prompt to remove the floppy disk from the drive (for bootable CD-ROMs)
  • - Same as if there is a file named BOOTCD in the cabinet folder.
  • - Same as if there is a "BootCD=1" line in the Msbatch.inf file.
/nh This switch bypasses running the Hwinfo.exe program at 0 percent files and RunOnce.
/nm This switch bypasses the minimum hardware requirement test. This tests for a minimum of a 486/66DX central processing unit (CPU) and 16 megabytes (MB) of memory.
/nx Do not check the version of Setupx that is running.
/ia Turn off the after providers listed in setupc.inf under [AfterProvider]
/ib Turn off the before providers listed in setupc.inf under [BeforeProvider]
/ic Clean boot. If this is set and KeepRMDrivers=1 is not in the registry, drivers are commented out from config.sys/autoexec.bat.
/ie This switch bypasses the Windows 98 Startup Disk wizard screens. If this switch is used, the Windows\Command\EBD folder is not created.
/in Do not call the net setup code. This will not even add the network wizard pages.
/ir Do not update the MBRs.
/iv This switch bypasses displaying the Setup screens during an upgrade within Windows.
/ix Do not perform a character set check.
/f Fast. Notifies setupx dosFindFirst looks in filename cache.
/u:<upi> Specify UPI.
 

Windows 98 and Windows 95
/? This switch provides a brief summary of the available Setup switches and the correct command-line syntax to use them.
/c This switch bypasses running SMARTDrive.
/d This switch bypasses using your existing Windows configuration (such as your current Win.ini and System.ini files).
/l Use this switch if you have a Logitech mouse and want it enabled during Setup.
/n This switch causes Setup to run without a mouse.
-s Use this switch to use an alternate Setup.inf file.
/t:<dir> This switch lets you specify where Setup copies its temporary files.
  • WARNING: Any existing files in this folder are deleted.
/id This switch bypasses checking for the minimum disk space required to install Windows
/ig Allows Setup to run on some older Gateway and Micron computers with an early BIOS.
/ih This switch causes Setup to run Scandisk in the foreground.
/im Causes setup to ignore the conventional memory check.
/iq If you use the /is switch to bypass Scandisk or Scandisk fails, Setup checks your drive for cross-linked files. The /iq switch prevents Setup from doing this.
/is This switch causes Setup not to run Scandisk.
/it This switch bypasses checking for the presence of "dirty" or "deadly" terminate-and-stay-resident programs (TSRs) that are known to cause problems with Windows Setup.
/p This switch causes Setup to pass string(s) directly to Detection Manager (or Sysdetmg.dll). Setup does not interpret the content of the string. The string can contain one or more detection options. The /p switch is not used by itself.

For more information on the /p switch, please see the "/p Detection Switch Option String Defined" section below.
 

/p Detection Switch Option String Defined

  • The string can contain one or more detection switches separated by a semicolon (;). For example, if you want to use "/p f" and "/p i" you type "setup /p f;i" (without quotation marks).
  • Some switches are simply On/Off switches. The absence of the switch implies Off; the presence of the switch turns it On. A minus sign (-) appended immediately after a switch turns it Off.
  • Some switches take parameters in the form of <c>=<params>. If there is more than one parameter to a switch, the parameters are separated by a comma (,).
  • There must not be any spaces in the detection option string.

Valid Detection Switches:
a - This switch enables safe detection. It tells each detection module to try safer detection methods. Safer detection methods may not detect devices correctly.

The default during Setup is enabled. The default in other cases is disabled.

Example: setup /p a

 
b - This switch enables Prompt Before mode. It prompts you before a detection module is called so that you can step through each detection module manually and decide if you want to skip it. The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p b

 
c - This switch enables class detection. Class detection is a mechanism for finding hints for a certain class of devices. For example, adapter class detection looks for hints in the Config.sys and System.ini files for CD-ROM drivers. If it does not find any, Setup displays a CD-ROM check box asking if you have a CD-ROM drive.

The default during Setup is enabled. The default when you use the Add New Hardware tool and docking/undocking detection is disabled.

Example: setup /p c

 
c- - Setup /p c- disables safe class detection. For example, this switch tells Setup to always search on all network adapter cards, sound cards, and CD-ROM drives.

Example: setup /p c-

 
d=<name> - This switch detects the listed detection modules only, where <name> is a detection module name or a device class name. Detection module names (such as DetectPIC and DetectAHA154x) are found in the Msdet.inf file. Device class names can be SCSIAdapter, net, and so on.

Example: setup /p d=detectpic

 
e - This switch enables Setup mode detection.

The default during Setup is enabled. The default in other cases is disabled.

Example: setup /p e

 
f - This switch enables Clean Registry mode. It forces Detection to clean the root branch of the registry before starting. This switch is ignored when Setup is run in the Windows 95/98 graphical user interface (GUI).

The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p f

  • See Note#2 for additional info.
g=<n> - This switch specifies the verbose level, where <n> is 0 to 3. This switch controls how verbose the built-in progress bar is. At maximum level (3), it shows all the resources of the detected devices along with the progress bar. This switch can help to identify which detection module causes a certain problem. For example, if your mouse stops responding (hangs) during detection but the system continues, there is no way to determine from the log files which module hung the mouse. By turning this option on and constantly moving the mouse during Setup, you can determine which module is running when the mouse hangs.

The default is disabled (0).

Example: setup /p g=3

 
i - This switch tells Setup not to report the existence of a Plug and Play BIOS. It is useful on computers that have a Plug and Play BIOS that is not reported in the Machine.inf file

Example: setup /p i

 
j - This switch tells Setup to undo the results of the "Setup /p i" switch. This switch should only be used after a computer that required "Setup /p i" has updated its Plug and Play BIOS.

Example: setup /p j

NOTE: In Windows 98, the "/p j" switch is required to enable ACPI support. Windows 98 maintains a BIOS list for ACPI computers, so as BIOS manufacturers create a new valid ACPI BIOS, this is the mechanism for causing Windows 98 to recognize it.

 
l=<n> - This switch specifies the logging level for Detlog.txt, where <n> is 0 to 3.

The default is maximum logging (3).

Example: setup /p l=0

 
m - This switch enables Mini-windows mode. This is enabled only when Setup is run under MS-DOS.

Example: setup /p m

 
n - This switch enables No Recovery mode. This option can be used to turn off the Windows 95 Setup recovery mechanism (for example, this switch prevents the creation of the Detcrash.log file).

The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p n

 
o=<traceoutput> - This switch specifies the trace output. The information is written to the Tracelog.txt file in the current directory. This option is available only in the Debug version of Sysdetmg.dll.

Example: setup /p o

 
p - This switch enables performance logging. It writes performance timing information to the DETLOG.TXT file.

The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p p

 
r - This switch enables Recovery mode. It causes Detection to use the Detcrash.log file, if found, for recovery. If this switch is not enabled, Detection ignores and deletes Detcrash.log even if it is found. This switch is used if Safe Recovery is selected during Setup, otherwise it is not used.

Example: setup /p r

 
s=<name> - This switch skips the listed detection modules or classes of detection modules, where <name> is a detection module name or a device class name. Detection module names (such as DetectPIC and DetectAHA154x) are in the Msdet.inf file. Device class names are SCSIAdapter, net, and so on.

Example: setup /p s=detectpic

 
t=<n> - This switch specifies the trace level, where <n> is 0 to 9.

The default is disabled (0).This option is available only in the Debug version of Sysdetmg.dll.

Example: setup /p t=9

 
v - This switch enables Verify Only mode. Detection has two stages:
  1. Verify existing devices in the registry.
  2. Detect new devices.

This switch tells Detection to perform only stage 1. This switch is used by the PCMCIA Wizard to verify legacy devices in the registry.

The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p v

 
x=<res list> - This switch excludes the listed resources from detection, where <res list> is one of four possibilities:
  • io(xxx-yyy,xxx-yyy,...)
  • mem(xxxxx-yyyyy,xxxxx-yyyyy,...)
  • irq(x,y,z,...)
  • dma(x,y,z,...)

This switch protects resources so that no detection modules can access them.

Example: setup /p x=io(300-30f,240-24f)

 

Note#1
What the /ND Switch Does

Using the setup /nd command bypasses any migration dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) during the reinstallation of Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Millennium Edition (Me). A migration DLL is a file that contains a list of files that Windows Setup should not replace if you are attempting to install an earlier version.

You can find the Windows migration files that are ignored when you use the setup /nd command in numbered sub keys under the following registry key:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup|Migration
This means that any update that changed Windows system files or Windows component files will be overwritten with the originally installed versions of the files. Any component that has been updated may no longer function properly with the program or update that replaced the file. Such issues may include:
  • Any Windows Update Web site download that overwrites any system file
  • Any security update that uses a migration DLL
  • Any service packs
  • Any Microsoft Office updates or service packs
  • Any Windows component version updates (including Microsoft Windows Media Player, Microsoft NetMeeting, Microsoft Outlook Express, or Microsoft Internet Explorer components)
  • Any version of Internet Explorer that is later than the version that is installed with the operating system

Potential Issues Using the /ND Switch for Troubleshooting

You should use the setup /nd command only in situations in which you have identified all components that have a migration DLL and in which all of those components have been removed or those components are known not to be affected by restoring original file versions. You can also use setup /nd in situations in which a program overwrote a system file needed by Windows, but you cannot extract that particular file.


Known Problems with the /ND Switch with Office 2000

On Windows 98 with Internet Explorer 5 installed by Office 2000, using the /nd switch may cause a no-boot situation, and may cause problems with installing Internet Explorer. It is best to uninstall Office 2000 and Internet Explorer 5 before using the setup /nd command.

On a computer with Office 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1) installed, using setup /nd can cause problems with updated Office 2000 components and may cause a no-boot situation. It is best to uninstall Office 2000 before using the setup /nd command.

Note#2
Setup /p f Works Only in Windows 95

When you use the setup /p f switch in Microsoft Windows 95 it may enable a clean registry mode, forcing detection to delete the following registry key before starting:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Root
In Windows 95, this switch is ignored when Setup is run from within Windows. In Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), setup /p f is always ignored, even when Setup is run from MS-DOS.

Windows 95 runs detection before the first restart of Setup. When run from MS-DOS, Windows 95 Setup runs detection under mini-windows. Therefore, the /p f detection switch is processed. Because Windows 98 and later versions of Windows run detection after the first restart, detection always runs under a Windows environment, even when Setup is run from MS-DOS. Therefore, the /p f detection switch is always ignored in those versions of Windows.


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Attila Szabo
Microsoft-MVP (DTS)
Verizon Communications-Special Services
a.k.a.' MrScary '

 		Verizon Communications
©Copyright 2000 - All rights reserved. Revised: November 30, 2000.