Ensuring
Peaceful
Coexistence
How to run English and Japanese versions of Windows 95 on the same computer
Like a jealous lover, Windows 95 doesn't want to share your computer with a rival -- even if that rival is one of its foreign-language siblings. If you're eager to upgrade to Windows 95 and work mainly in English, but need to use kanji on occasion, as of this writing you have two options: install only Japanese Windows 95 and use it to run all your English applications, or try to install both the English and Japanese versions of Windows 95.
The latter solution, though, is not as straightforward as it was with Windows 3.1. Because of Windows 95's role as a full operating system, installing one language version automatically overwrites the boot files of the previously installed version -- unless you follow the steps outlined in this article.
by Steven Myers
and Wm. Auckerman
Bilingual Windows users in Japan have always faced a dilemma -- how to efficiently and cost-effectively run both English and Japanese applications. Japanese Windows 3.1 would run some, but not all, English-language applications, while English Windows 3.1, as is, will run no Japanese applications.
Solutions to the dilemma, in the Windows 3.1 days, were two. If you were willing to spend the additional yen, and had a big enough hard disk, you could install both English and Japanese versions of Windows 3.1. Then, assuming that you booted in Japanese mode of DOS/V, with all the necessary drivers loaded, you could easily and quickly switch between the two versions of Windows, depending on which language's applications you wanted to use. Or, alternatively, you could buy Win/V, a low-priced set of font and driver extensions that enabled Japanese applications to be run from English Windows (and without the need for DOS/V).
With Windows 95, though, the picture changes. Microsoft claims (and so far, the claim appears accurate) that the Japanese version of Windows 95 will be able to run all English Windows applications. While that solution may satisfy native speakers of Japanese, for the gaijin user it means struggling with Japanese menus and help files, even when you're working in English.
There does not yet appear to be a Win/V-like method in development for running Japanese applications from English Windows 95. C&F Computing (the manufacturers of Win/V) has said that the company will not be releasing a Windows 95 version of Win/V, and no one else has offered to take up the development baton and run with it.
Where there's a will...
In the absence of a solution like Win/V, or a patch that would allow the user to select the language for menus and help files, the bilingual user is left with the option of running English applications from a Japanese environment, or installing both the English and Japanese versions of Windows.Doing the latter for Windows 95, however, is not the easy, straightforward option that it was with Windows 3.1. Microsoft has so far supplied no public information on how to accomplish the task (though there is reportedly an intra-company memo that details a rather convoluted procedure for doing so), and simply installing both versions results in one overwriting certain essential boot-up files of the other. (At least, this is true as of the Japanese "final beta" version. Our attempts at installing Japanese Windows 95 beta and then trying to run the English version via the F8 key at startup, and vice versa, resulted only in error messages.)
There is a way, though, to get both Japanese and English Windows 95 running on your computer. The following procedure is the only dual installation method we have attempted so far that we can verify works properly -- at least on our systems.
The disclaimer: Be forewarned that this is a "do so at your own risk" procedure -- there is so far no official Microsoft-supported method of performing such an installation, so if you run into problems, you can't turn to Bill Gates for help. And while Computing Japan has tested this installation procedure, and it has worked for us, we can't guarantee its success in all cases (or that there isn't a typo in the following steps that will turn your computer into a pumpkin at midnight). If you really want to be able to use both English and Japanese Windows 95, and don't have two computers, we present our method for informational purposes.
System preparation
If they do not already exist, you will have to create two logical drives for the installation. This means repartitioning your hard disk, and subsequent loss of any data stored there. (If you're not comfortable with this procedure, read your DOS manual for more information about repartitioning.)1. First, back up all data currently stored on your disk. (Read that sentence two more times, and then do it!) You should back up your hard disk even if you don't repartition. If you do need to repartition, follow steps 2 through 5; otherwise, go to step 6.)
2. Create a bootable MS-DOS floppy disk.
C:\>format a: /s
3. Copy the system files, fdisk.exe, and format.com to the floppy.
C:\>sys a:
C:\>copy fdisk.exe a:
C:\>copy format.com a:
4. Reboot your system from the floppy. Use fdisk to create two logical drives, then format each drive and make C: bootable.
5. Restart the computer and boot from drive C:, then reinstall your applications and data. (If you have an "upgrade" version of Windows 95, you need to have an earlier version of DOS/Windows already installed.)
Setup
6. Follow the directions that came with the package and install the English version of Windows 95 on the C: drive.7. When you're sure that English Windows 95 is working properly, run the "MS-DOS Prompt" program. From the DOS prompt, use the ATTRIB command to remove system, read-only, and hidden attributes from the C: root directory:
C:\>ATTRIB -h -r -s *.*
8. Close the MS-DOS Prompt window. Create a new folder called "English Root Directory," then copy all files from the C: root directory to this folder. (Note that from the DOS prompt, this folder will be called "englis~1".)
9. Create a batch file in the English Root Directory called ENGLISH.BAT. (See your DOS manual for information on writing batch files.) This batch file should consist of the following commands:
C:
CD \
ATTRIB -h -r -s *.*
COPY C:\*.* D:\JAPANE~1\*.*
COPY C:\ENGLIS~1\*.* C:\*.*
Note that the D:\JAPANE~1 directory refers to the "Japanese Root Directory," which you will create in a subsequent step.
10. Restart your computer and boot from the C: drive. When the message "Starting Windows 95" appears on the screen, press the F8 key. From the menu that is then displayed, choose "Command Prompt Only" and press ENTER. The system will then start at the DOS prompt.
11. Install the Japanese version of Windows 95 on the D: drive.
C:\>D:
D:\>A:SETUP
Important: Make sure that you install the Windows files in the D:\WINDOWS directory rather than the C:\WINDOWS default directory. If you install on C: by mistake, the files from your English Win 95 installation will be overwritten.
12. After installation is complete and Japanese Windows 95 is working properly, go to the DOS prompt and use the ATTRIB command to once again remove the system, hidden, and read-only attributes from files in the C: root directory. (Note that even though this installation was done on the D: drive, the Japanese system files will still be located on the C: root directory.)
13. As in step 8, close the DOS windows and create a new folder called "Japanese Root Directory" on drive D:, then copy all files from the C: root directory to this folder.
14. From the DOS prompt, create a batch file called JAPANESE.BAT. It should consist of the following commands:
C:
CD \
ATTRIB -h -r -s *.*
COPY C:\*.* C:\ENGLIS~1\*.*
COPY D:\JAPANE~1\*.* C:\*.*
15. Now, create a shortcut on the Japanese Windows desktop that will run the ENGLISH.BAT batch file you created in the English Root Directory. Double click on this shortcut, then restart the computer. The computer will reboot in English mode.
16. Now (as in the previous step), while in English mode create a shortcut to the JAPANESE.BAT batch file in the Japanese Root Directory. Double clicking on this shortcut and rebooting will put you back in Japanese mode.
In summary
As you can see, this method is a bit drawn out, and it involves copying files to and from the C: root directory and rebooting to switch between English and Japanese. For the time being, though, it appears to be the only reliable way of running both the English and Japanese versions of Windows 95 on the same machine.One final point of caution: Make sure that you remove the hidden, read-only, and system attributes from all files in the C: root directory before copying the files to the English or Japanese Root Directory. All of these system files, of the proper version, are required for Windows 95 to boot properly; if you copy without removing these attributes, all necessary files will not copy, and some will be overwritten.ç
The authors wish to thank Gary Nyberg of LINC Computer for his assistance in developing the method described in this article.
