Windows 98 on CD

Step TWO:  Install your selected “lite” programs

Remember our objectives here: 1) functionality and 2)Footprint. Don’t install anything unnecessary or anything which takes up too much real estate.

a.                   Power quest – install both windows and dos versions of Partition magic (don’t even think about boot manager, etc)  then delete all windows files except partition info and partition editor.  Create MSDOS mode shortcut to the dos version of partition magic because this is the version that you must use (Partition magic for windows detects which partition your windows directory is located on – since a Ram disk is not a partition at all, PM cannot detect the drive and will subsequently crash out.  The dos version does not include the crash provoking feature!)

b.                  Opera – Install normally and set up your preferences as you like – use a minimal HD cache.  Opera also has a lot of help files in htm format. Kill them all, as well as the extra skins.

c.                   Install coa2, copy the executable and the ini to another directory, then uninstall it.  I run it directly with no shortcut and I suggest you do too.  This program is going to be absolutely necessary to make the whole system work, so make sure this works correctly.

d.                  Install all the other programs I have suggested, or that you would like.  ABIWORD, for example, is a good choice for minimal word processing tasks (ripping out the extra language modules, of course).  It is also pretty reduced in size. 

e.                   If you choose Winamp, make sure you put in the necessary correct codecs.  It’s not always easy to find the correct ones, but its worth the trouble.

Last: make sure that all your programs work properly and contain the minimal info necessary.  This means that you remove all songs from the winamp playlist, for example, as well as emptying internet caches, etc.  Also, delete all uninstall files such as  unwise, as well as any extra language files for any program.   When you have the system as you like and in a decent small footprint, proceed to step 3.