Windows Initialization Files

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Initialization files are Windows plain ASCII configuration text files that have an .INI extension. Windows 3.x used the SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, PROGRAM.INI, and PROTOCOL.INI files to configure almost all its settings and device drivers. Operating systems such as Windows 9.x/Me/2000 and Windows XP still make use of .INI files, such as the SYSTEM.INI, to load old 16-bit drivers for backward compatibility. However, the newer operating systems do not need these files to boot up, as did Windows 3.x.

The main Windows initialization files and the text editors used to view and modify them are described next.

The SYSTEM.INI

The SYSTEM.INI file got its start in Windows 3.x. It is a configuration file that is used to load 32-bit VxDs (Virtual Device Drivers) and 16-bit device drivers. It is often said that the SYSTEM.INI is the Windows version of the DOS file CONFIG.SYS, because it deals mostly with device settings and drivers.

The SYSTEM.INI file in Windows 3.x is divided into two main sections: the [386Enh] section, where most 16-bit device drivers are loaded; and the [boot] section, which contains information on Windows 3.x start-up operations.

As mentioned above, the SYSTEM.INI file in newer versions of Windows is maintained for backward compatibility with 16-bit drivers. Most of the device drives and environmental settings stored in the early operating system initialization files are now stored and loaded by the registry in newer operating systems. The registry is discussed in Chapters 11 through 15.

The WIN.INI

The Windows WIN.INI file is often compared to the DOS file AUTOEXEC.BAT, based on its configuration of environment and user-related settings. The WIN.INI is also an ASCII readable text file. It is used to configure settings such as fonts, date, time, and language. When Windows is started, the system looks first at the SYSTEM.INI and then at the WIN.INI. The following lines are from a typical WIN.INI file found in Windows 2000.

 ; For 16-bit app support [fonts] [extensions] [mci extensions] [files] [Mail] MAPI=1 CMC=1 CMCDLLNAME=mapi.dll CMCDLLNAME32=mapi32.dll MAPIX=1 MAPIXVER=1.0.0.1 OLEMessaging=1 [MCI Extensions.BAK]

There are two items here that are important to note. Notice the first line of the WIN.INI file:

; For 16-bit app support

The semicolon (;) is used to remark out the line. This line is being used for informational purposes only. The semicolon can also be used in the SYSTEM.INI to exclude a line from being processed.

Note 

The semicolon is used in .INI files to remark out information. In AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, the REM statement is used to remark out information.

Text Editors

Text editors such as SYSEDIT.EXE, Notepad, and WordPad can be used in Windows to view and edit the SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, CONFIG.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. The SYSEDIT utility in particular can be used in any of the major operating systems for this purpose. For example, in Windows 9.x/NT/2000, click Start > Run, enter “SYSEDIT” on the Open: line, and click OK. The SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, CONFIG.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT files will open as displayed in Figure 10.6.

Note 

The SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, CONFIG.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT files display different results on different systems. The display depends on which operating system you are running and what else you have installed on your system.

Figure 10.6: The results of SYSEDIT in Windows 2000.

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