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AFAIK the Windows 95 CD isn't bootable - you need an MS-DOS boot floppy with CD-ROM support to run the setup program which is in the WIN95 directory.
I recommend copying the WIN95 directory to the hard drive beforehand and running SETUP from there to speed up installation and avoid the need to put the CD in for built-in device drivers.

133MHz wrote:

AFAIK the Windows 95 CD isn't bootable .

Correct...

Are there windows 95 CD`s that are bootable? Or are non of them bootable?

I have a boot floppy that also activates the CD-rom support. But it isnt the original microsoft one.. Does it matter?

When i booted from floppy disk i can see the win95 directory listed on the CD.. But there isnt a EXE program that works in pure dos...

Do i need to extract the archived files manually? I thought there would be a setup program to run..

I think i found some answere i can try:

The "Companion" CD has no setup file. You have to take the long way 'round to install Windows with it.

(1) Copy the contents of the Win95 directory onto your harddrive into a new directory.

(2) Copy dossetup.bin, oemsetup.bin, oemsetup.exe, setup.exe, setup.txt, suhelper.bin, and winsetup.bin to the same directory (#1 above), from any version of Windows95.

(3) Run setup from the directory you chose in #1, above.

FYI: setup.exe was intentionally omitted from the CD to prevent users from installing OSR2 on another system. The CD should only be used for adding and/or removing OS components. Yes, I think the "Companion" concept is a ripoff, too.

http://wayback.archive.org/web/20000610194620 … /companion.html

According my bible, "Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit" from Microsoft Press:

To start Windws 95 Setup from MS-DOS

• Start your computer in the usual way.
• If you are installing Windows 95 from floppy disks, insert Disk 1 in the drive and make that the active drive. For example, type a: if the disk is in the A-drive.
  - Or -
  If you are installing Windows 95 from CD-ROM, put the compact disc in the drive and make that active drive.
• At the command prompt, type setup, and then press ENTER.
• Follow the instructions on-screen, as described in the follow sections of this chapter.

There is no setup file to run... I think it needs the compinion cd to run..

Win95 predates the wide adoption of El Torito so no it's not bootable.

Just use a Win95 startup boot disk, load a CD-ROM driver, CD your way to the Win95 directory, type setup. Easy.

If you're using a non-English version of Windows the setup program might be under a different name - for example in the Spanish localizations it's actually INSTALAR.EXE

Its an english version. Guys iam serious, iam not kidding.

Solution: I skip with this included CD.. Just burn an ISO CD and then using the original serial number.. Thats the only way around..
Otherwise i have to fiddle with files from an other windows 95 cd to get this cd running.

(2) Copy dossetup.bin, oemsetup.bin, oemsetup.exe, setup.exe, setup.txt, suhelper.bin, and winsetup.bin to the same directory (#1 above), from any version of Windows95.

Those files arent included on my setup windows 95 cd.

Upgrade/update disk? Did you look under every directory for the setup.exe?

Windows 95 is just a bunch of cab files in a single directory...my routine back in the day was always the following..

1) boot floppy disk with CD-ROM support.
2) insert Windows 95 CD
3) mkdir c:\win95
4) copy d:\win95\* c:\win95 (xcopy is not usually on a boot disk)
5) c:
6) cd\win95
7) setup

No Setup file?? I've never come across that...Are you sure the CD is legit? What kind of Windows 95 CD is this? version? manual?

dir *.exe /s/p
dir setup.* /s/p

I have looked on the CD.. But it is indeed a companion one.. Never have seen that. Always overlooked it..Bought it from ebay awhile ago..

I can verify this is a so-called Companion CD. I got one of those back in 2002 when I decommissioned a P200 Acer; the OSR2 CD had no setup files at all - they were actually located in the C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS directory. I grabbed and combined them with the OSR2 CD files and created a new, complete CD-R copy (I have since lost the Companion CD but still have the CD-R I created). Here is a quote from an old OSR2 FAQ, located here:

19 Apr 97 The part number on the face of my OSR2 CD is 000-45235. What does that mean?

You have a CD with all of the OSR2 files except the setup program ("setup.exe"). This CD is distributed by some large OEMs with complete systems. The idea is, you have all the OSR2 files, in case you want to add or remove OS components, however, you have no setup.exe file, so you can't install OSR2 on another system. However, if you copy all of the files from the CD onto a hard disk, and then copy dossetup.bin, oemsetup.bin, oemsetup.exe, setup.exe, setup.txt, suhelper.bin, and winsetup.bin to the same directory from any version of Windows 95, you can then run setup and install from that directory.

On mine the setup.exe file is found inside the "Win95" directory on the CD.
.
IIRC a Win98 startup floppy with CD-ROM support (many available on the web) will let you install W95 and should be a lot less hassle than what you're doing.
Boot with the floppy, navigate to the Win95 directory on the CD and run the setup.exe file.
- I could be wrong. Been a long time for that.
.

I get what you are saying.
People are right, If you had a standard Windows 95 CD, it would be as simple as booting from any dos/Win9x floppy and typing setup from either the root or Win95 folder.
BUT
You don't have a standard Win95 CD, You have a CD modified by say, Dell, HP, etc. So normal methods wont work.

If it was me I would "find" a standard Win95 CD online somewhere and just use your key, rather then messing around with file locations, extracting files and so on.

leileilol wrote on 2015-11-16, 02:36:

Win95 predates the wide adoption of El Torito so no it's not bootable.

Just use a Win95 startup boot disk, load a CD-ROM driver, CD your way to the Win95 directory, type setup. Easy.

You might be looking for install.exe because in the 90's it was more common for things to have install.exe than setup.exe

Zou can try to create your own bootable Win9x CD by adding the setup Floppy as boot source to the cd.