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Windows 95 Update Version Information
The version numbers of the original retail and OEM release of
Windows 95 and the OEM Service Releases are listed below. In general, files
included with the indicated release of Windows 95 have the indicated version
stamp.
Release Version File dates
----------------------------------------------------------
Windows 95 retail, OEM 4.00.950 7/11/95
Windows 95 retail SP1 4.00.950 0A 7/11/95
OEM Service Release 1 4.00.950A 12/31/95
OEM Service Release 2 4.00.1111* 8/24/96
OEM Service Release 2.1 4.03.1212-1214* 8/24/96-8/27/97
OEM Service Release 2.5 4.03.1214* 8/24/96-11/18/97
NOTE- In the case of Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2), 2.1
(OSR 2.1) and 2.5 (OSR 2.5), not all files have this version stamp. In the case
of OSR 2.1 and OSR 2.5, only files updated to provide support for the Win32
Driver Model (WDM) and Universal Serial Bus (USB) may have this version stamp
(the remainder maintain the same version stamps as the corresponding OSR2
files).
- Windows 95 OEM Service Releases are not available for
download.
You can view a file's version information by using the right
mouse button to click a file in Windows Explorer, clicking Properties on the
menu that appears, and clicking the Version tab. If the property sheet for the
file does not show a Version tab, there is no version information available for
that file.
With few exceptions, Windows 95 updates are stamped with
a version number of 4.00.951 or greater, indicating that the file is a newer
version than originally included with Windows 95. Updates to Windows 95 OEM
Service Release 2 (OSR2) generally have a version of 4.00.1112 or greater.
It is possible that multiple fixes would be applied to the same
component. With a few rare exceptions, these fixes are always cumulative. A
change implemented in a given version of a particular component is also
included in later versions of that component, along with any additional change
implemented in the later versions. (For example, version 4.00.952 would contain
the change implemented in version 4.00.951, as well as the new change.)
The cumulative nature of these changes, combined with the
incremented version numbers, means that, with very few exceptions, there is
always one "current" version of a given component, containing all fixes made to
that component to date.
Identifying Windows 95 Updates
Nearly all Windows 95 update files can be positively identified
by the following two characteristics, which can be viewed on the Version tab of
the property sheet for the file:
- A version number greater than the product release
version.
- An additional string resource named "Special Build
Description" that is set to the value "QFE."
Some Windows 95 files do not contain version information to
identify the file. In such cases, the modified date and size of the file can be
examined and compared to the original release version of the file. These are
not conclusive indicators, however, because the modified date can be affected
by various conditions, and changes in a file may not result in a change in the
file's size.
The Windows 95 Update Information Tool (Qfecheck.exe)
The Windows 95 Update Information tool (Qfecheck.exe) is
installed with each Windows 95 update. This tool uses information stored in the
registry, and version and special build information in the files themselves, to
identify installed Windows 95 updates. This tool can be used to identify which
Windows 95 updates have been installed on a given computer.
To run
the Qfecheck tool, run the Qfecheck.exe file in the Windows folder (or in some
rare cases, the Windows\System folder). The tool contains online
help.
For additional information
about the Windows 95 Update Information tool, click the article number below to
view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
145990 Windows 95 Update Information Tool (Qfecheck.exe)
Installing Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
To install a Windows 95 Update on a single computer, run the
self- extracting installer. This performs the following actions:
- Unpack the files that are needed for installation into a
temporary folder. These files typically include:
- The updated component file(s)
- The QFECHECK tool (Qfecheck.exe and
Qfecheck.hlp)
- An .inf file used to uninstall the update
- An .inf file used to run the installation
(W95upd.inf)
- In some cases, Advpack.dll, W95inf16.dll, and
W95inf32.dll files
- Use the Windows 95 built-in Setup library (Setupx.dll) or
an external setup library (Advpack.dll) to install the specified update
according to the directives in the provided .inf file (W95upd.inf). This .inf
file contains directives to copy files to their appropriate locations, and add
registry settings as appropriate. Some later installer packages may use
multiple .inf files to allow a single package to install one of several
different versions of an updated file, depending on the version of Windows 95
that is installed.
If a newer version of the updated component has
already been installed, the older version is not installed. In most cases, this
occurs silently. For some older installer packages, you may be prompted to keep
or overwrite the existing component. - Inform you when the update is complete and prompt you to
restart the computer. When you click OK, the temporary files from step 1 are
removed and the installation program terminates.
Uninstalling Windows 95 Updates on a Single Computer
In most cases, Windows 95 updates can be safely and easily
uninstalled and replaced with the original versions of the updated components.
This is typically facilitated by an .inf file copied to either the
Windows\INF\QFE folder (in most cases), or to the Windows folder (for some
older installer packages), during installation of the update. This file
typically has a name of the form <xxxxx>_UN.INF. This .inf file can be
used to uninstall the Windows 95 update by right-clicking the file in Windows
Explorer, and then clicking Install.
When a Windows 95 update is
uninstalled, you are prompted for the original Windows 95 installation disks or
CD-ROM. The original version of the files are copied and overwrite the updated
versions. An alternate file location may also be specified at this time. When
uninstallation is complete, you typically need to restart the computer for the
change to take effect.
Installing Windows 95 Updates Using Server-Based Setup
Extracting Package Contents:
Most Windows 95 update
installer packages now support command-line switches that allow the contents of
the package to be extracted to a specified directory, without launching the
INF-driven installation routine. The command to perform this operation would
be:
path to update file\update filename.EXE /C /T:destination folder For example, to extract the
contents of XXXXXUPD.EXE, located in C:\DOWNLOAD, to the C:\UPDATE destination
folder, the command would be:
C:\DOWNLOAD\XXXXXUPD.EXE /C
/T:C:\UPDATE This functionality is available in Windows
95 update installer packages created after October 1996. If you are not certain
whether a particular installer package supports this functionality, run the
installer with a "/?" command-line switch. For example, type the following
command:
C:\DOWNLOAD\XXXXXUPD.EXE /?
If a window appears listing the available command-line switches for the
package, you may use this command to extract the contents of the package to the
desired destination folder. If, instead, a window appears prompting you to
install the update, the installer package does not support these command-line
switches, and the alternate method described below must be used to extract the
contents of the package.
Referring to the steps above for installing
onto a single computer, note that the files used in the installation are
located in a temporary folder until you click OK in the final prompt window.
During this time, the files can be copied into a different folder and saved for
further use. Depending on the specific Windows 95 update being installed, this
temporary folder may be one of the following folders:
- Windows\Temp
- The temp folder (as specified by the TEMP environment
variable)
- temp\Ixp000.tmp (as specified by the TEMP environment
variable)
Copying the Files to a Network Share:
If Windows 95
workstations are being set up from a network share, the updated component files
can be copied into the appropriate folder(s) on the network share before
installing Windows 95 from this share. In this way, new workstations can be
configured with the updated components from the very beginning.
The
appropriate folder into which to copy the updated component files depends upon
the type of installation.
- If the network installation share contains only the Windows
95 .cab files, the updated component files should be copied into the same
folder as the .cab files. When Windows 95 Setup copies the file from this
source to the destination, it will copy standalone files from that folder, if
they exist, instead of the same files from within the .cab files.
- If the network installation share is a server-based-Setup
share point created using the Netsetup tool (from the Windows 95 CD-ROM), the
updated component files should be copied into the same folder as the components
they replace, overwriting the original versions of those files. Note that a
given file may appear in more than one folder, so be sure to update all
instances of the original file.
The .inf file used to install Windows 95 updates (W95upd.inf)
includes registry information that is either necessary for the update to
provide the intended functionality, or is simply useful in tracking which
updates have been installed. We recommend that this file be examined by the
administrator, and the appropriate sections merged into the Msbatch.inf file
used during Setup, to ensure that this registry information is incorporated
when the update is installed.
To install Windows 95 updates on
existing Windows 95 workstations that are running a shared installation of
Windows 95 from a server, it is normally sufficient to update the component
files in the shared folder. In very rare cases, updates to real-mode components
will require the files to be copied to the individual computers, either on the
server or on the workstation's local hard disk or boot floppy disk.
To install Windows 95 updates on existing Windows 95 workstations that are
running local, standalone installations of Windows 95, one of the following
methods can be used:
These methods are suggestions. There may be other methods not
listed here that can be used to distribute these software updates.
NOTE: When the self-extracting installer is used to install the Windows 95
update, a check is made to ensure that a newer version of the component is not
inadvertently overwritten with the version being installed. If an alternate
installation method is used, care must be taken to prevent replacing a newer
component with an older one. In some cases, replacing a newer component with an
older one could render the computer unable to boot.
Obtaining Windows 95 Updates
Categorized by availability and distribution methods, Windows 95
updates fall into two primary categories: those available publicly from online
sources, and those not available publicly, but only available by contacting
Microsoft Technical Support.
Publicly-distributed Windows 95 updates are available to be
downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center.
For additional
information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following
article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most
current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file
was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to
prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
To determine which file to download, query the
Microsoft Knowledge Base to find the article that references the issue.
Specific instructions are included in each article.
Windows 95
updates that are not publicly distributed can be obtained by contacting
Microsoft Technical Support, through any of our direct support offerings,
including telephone.
Note that server-based Setup (using Netsetup) of Windows 95
OEM Service release 2 and 2.1 (OSR2) is not supported. OSR2 was designed to be
preinstalled on new computers by computer manufacturers. One of the main
components, the FAT32 file system, requires that the computer's hard disk be
repartitioned. For this reason, OSR2 is not distributed to resellers.
Attempts to distribute OSR2 using Netsetup result in users being
prompted for a Product ID number. This number is usually listed on the
Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity. Modifying the Msbatch.inf file does not
prevent this prompt.
Knowledge Base Query Tips
Information about specific Windows 95 updates and issues resolved
by these updates can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base by querying on
the issue's symptoms.