Ever wonder why you Exit to DOS to play that favorite action game only to find that darn DOS-Mode screams "Invalid Drive Specification" when you attempt to access the CD-ROM? You're then forced to run the CD under Windows95 only to find that the game either runs poorly or tells you that it needs DOS-Mode and suddenly you find yourself in an endless loop? Fear Not!

Given the presumptuous nature of today's CD-ROM manufacturer's, "real-mode" drivers for your make/model are hardly ever included in your new PC setup. Actually, Microsoft wants you to believe that DOS is dead, but believe you me, DOS does live beneath that hulking operating system(OS) mass called Windows95. And Yes!, it needs the same drivers that it did, what? 6 versions ago?

First of all, before we proceed, I'll give a few quick, simple definitions here so as not to lose all you newbies out there:

Drivers- What? Some people may not actually know this. These are the, well let's say, programs which allow your OS to communicate with the given hardware in your computer. Depending on your OS, it will either need "Real-Mode" or "Protected-Mode" drivers to allow communication between it and the piece of hardware.

Real-Mode- this is the term that is most often given to MS-DOS in nowadays tech-speak. Don't get me wrong here, not all MS-DOS sessions are really considered "real-mode." Those vague, boring black screens that exist inside of Windows95? Those are actually controlled by Windows95, not DOS as we know and love.

Protected-Mode- this is a relatively new term which has been coined for Windows95/NT OS's. We won't get into that too much here though as the emphasis of this information is on that other kind of driver.

OK. So you say you know that already? Then you're probably thinking, "But how do I actually implement these real-mode drivers? I don't have all day!" Relax... now we'll get to the nitty gritty...eh? Did I just say that??

I.) First off, you're going to actually need to possess real-mode drivers. Most of the time, these are going to be specific to the manufacturer/make/model of you CD-ROM drive. You can usually find these at either the CD-ROM manufacturer's home page or if you bought your computer as a whole unit, from your PC manufacturer's web site.

II.) Once you have the drivers, you'll have two choices in how you want to load them. Each has their advantages and disadvantages as explained below:

A:) Via AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS - This is done in much the same way as it has been in previous versions of DOS. The real advantage here is that they will be resident at all times. This means that you can choose "Command Prompt Only" from the Windows95 Boot Menu(F8 when you see "Starting Windows95...") and have them loaded and ready to go. The main disadvantage is that the drivers can eat up that Conventional Memory that everyone seems to think is so important.

B:) Via the "EXIT TO DOS.PIF" - This file can be found in the \WINDOWS directory/folder. When you Start, Shutdown, "Restart in MS-DOS Mode", this is the executable which actually loads the DOS prompt in all its glory. In this scenario, the real-mode drivers actually load only when you choose the option to, you guessed it, "Restart in MS-DOS Mode." The main advantage of this real-mode strategy is that your conventional memory is spared while in Windows. The disadvantage here is that they only load when restarting in MS-DOS mode. Big Deal you say? This means that every time you want to use a DOS-based CD, you'll have to load Windows95 and then exit to DOS. Quite a hassle eh?

III.) You've now chosen the strategy in which you wish to employ your real-mode drivers. Then why are you still reading??? Go back and choose one of the links above! Geez... I can't do all the work here! :-)

Author: Yimmy -- ©1997
Last Updated On: May 5, 1997